Medical officers seek to contain the disease as more Cholera drugs continue to arrive in Migory County , Kenya.This comes as water shortages in all the eight constituencies in the region persist.Red Cross teams criss-crossed the devolved unit on a surveillance mission.
Most people in the region still rely on rivers and boreholes as their main sources of water for drinking and cooking.Only 30 per cent of the one million people in the county are connected to clean piped water.
7 people have died of the disease in Migori County alone.County Director of Health Joel Gondi asked residents to drink treated water only to avert the spread of the deadly disease.He said, “We want people who show symptoms of cholera to be immediately taken to the nearest health facility in a bid to save lives. Don’t wait until it is too late,” he advised.
At least 100 patients are still admitted to various health facilities across the devolved unit after contracting the waterborne disease.
Traders in the county defied a ban on food hawking.Food hawkers in all the constituencies went about their business as usual.Mandazis, chapattis, cooked beans, rice and porridge were still being sold along dusty roads in the region.
Traders said they could not stop selling the food as this was their only source of income.Nancy Atieno, a mother of 4 said,“My son joined Form One this week and I’m under pressure to raise money for his fees", even when the government announced that food vending had been banned untill the disease was fully contained.
More than 10,000 traders in the county are into the business.The County Executive for Health, Elijah Odhiambo, directed that all hotels and restaurants in the region be inspected daily by public health staff to ensure they conform to minimum hygiene standards.
DN
