Parents in King'eroo Kikuyu Sub-County have been cautioned against allowing their children to wander into contaminated water as it poses serious health risks.
This is after two children from the area were admitted at the Kikuyu Hospital on Tuesday afternoon suffering from Bilhazia after swimming in contaminated water.
Speaking in the hospital, the children's doctor Angela Mwaluma said that children living in areas with stagnant water with vegetation are at risk.
She explained that the two boys had shown itchy skin which is an early symptoms the disease. She said that when parents spot such symptoms including red urine (advanced) in their children they should immediately take them to the nearest medical centre.
She explaiined that Bilharzia is spread by snails where contacted with them even in water can cause the infection.
"Such contact with snails include, swimming, washing hands, paddling in the water and also drinking it," she said.
Doctor Mwaluma advised parents to be responsible with where their children and prevent them form contacting contaminated water and sewage.
"This is the fourth case in 2 months of children in King'eroo being admitted for Bilharzia. I want to challenge parents to be responsible to where their children play and ensure they remove stagnant water where they live to avoid diseases," she advised.
According to one of the mother's boy, Charity Gikonyo, her son developed skin rashes a few hours after swimming in a nearby stream before she rushed him to hospital.
There is no vaccine against the disease but there is a readily available treatment. A drug called praziquantel is injected into the bloodstream and disrupts the parasite's tegument, the parasite is then destroyed