The Mombasa County government is set to inspect bottled water being sold in the county, following sixty three new cases of Hepatitis A being reported in the county.
County Secretary Francis Thoya said they suspect the water being consumed by residents in Mombasa is not safe.
“Some of the bottled water being sold is contaminated which has led to further spread of the disease,” said Thoya.
Speaking in Mombasa on Wednesday, the county secretary said they would conduct impromptu raids on the companies suspected to be selling contaminated water.
“We have established that most of the bottled water sold at bus terminuses has illegal seals and could be contaminated. The cases reported could be linked to residents drinking contaminated water. We will conduct impromptu raids on companies selling contaminated water and on makeshift eateries serving contaminated food,” said Thoya.
He added, “We are not sure how safe the bottled water being sold in our streets is. We want to know whether the water from these water bottling companies is safe for human consumption,” he said.
Mr Thoya also revealed that the county government has set aside 11 million shillings to buy drugs for the four affected sub-counties of Jomvu, Changamwe, Likoni and Mvita.