Thika sub-county residents have been asked to take early precautionary measures to cushion themselves from cholera that has started to be reported in some parts of the country.
Speaking in her office on Thursday, Thika sub-county Deputy Public Health Officer in charge of environmental services Ann Wamaitha has urged residents to ensure that they drink clean water and maintain high levels of hygiene to ensure that there is no outbreak of the deadly in the sub-county.
"We are urging residents to be on high alert to ensure that they are safe from cholera that has started to spread in some parts of Nyanza region. Though we do not have any such cases in this county or the neighbouring ones, residents are urged to maintain high standards of cleanliness and more so ensure their water for domestic use is clean for consumption," Wamaitha said.
Wamaitha urged slum residents like Gachagi and Kiandutu to ensure they boil their drinking water at all times saying the two slums are high risk areas which are usually the first to be hit by waterborne disease like cholera.
"Slums are high risk areas in as far as waterborne diseases are concerned due to poor sanitation facilities that sometimes leads to contamination of water sources. That is why we urge residents to always drink boiled water to be on the safe side," Wamaitha said.
She at the same time called operators of food joints especially on the roadside to also adopt maintain high hygiene measures to avoid food and water contamination.
A woman washes clothes near an open borehole in Gachagi slums, Kamenu Ward. Thika residents have been asked to take early precautionary measures to prevent themselves from cholera which has started to spread in some parts of Nyanza Region/Daniel Daniel...