Kisumu residents have been warned over a possible cholera outbreak as neighbouring Siaya County reports about ten cholera-related deaths in the past two weeks.
County Chief Officer for Health Dr Ojwang Lusi said even though the county has put in place measures to prevent a possible outbreak, the public has to be careful.
Siaya County is facing a cholera threat with over 10 people already dead and several others admitted in various hospitals.
And with the massive movement of people to and from Siaya, Lusi said there is a possibility of the disease spreading.
“We are on the lookout and we have already formed a team which responds to any diarrhoea disease reported in our hospitals just to ascertain if it is cholera,” said Lusi.
“As you know we cannot set up screening services in our boarders with Siaya, the only thing we can do is to be careful and handle suspicious symptoms in time,” he added.
He said the county may be forced to ban open hawking of food, and eating in funerals in stern measures to prevent the spread of the disease.
“We have learnt a lot from the last episode of cholera cases we had and the measures we had put in place which include surveillance, water treatment and health education are still on. And I would like to ask the public to report any suspected diarrhoea cases. We are equal to the task and we will deal with such cases to avoid spread,” he added.