Refugees at a market in Dadaab, Garissa County. [Photo/Daily Nation]
Four children aged between 13 and 16 are admitted to Dadaab sub-county hospital in Garissa County after suffering from cholera.
According to the county disease surveillance coordinator Hassan Elmi, the four who hail from Hagarbul location were rushed to hospital after symptoms of diarrhea persisted.
Elmi said three of the victims were subjected to a rapid diagnostic test, whose results turned positive for Cholera.
“Our fears have been confirmed and we shall send additional health workers to Hagarbul to support those on the ground,” Elmi told journalists.
Health workers in Hagarbul have directed to take precautionary measures to contain the disease.
Data compiled by the World Health Organisation (WHO) shows that Kenya has experienced an upsurge of cholera cases since the beginning of 2017.
The first cholera outbreak reported in 2017 was in Tana River County. The outbreak started on 10 October 2016 and was controlled by April 2017.
The second wave of cholera outbreaks started in Garissa County on 2 April 2017 and was reported later in nine other counties including Nairobi, Murang’a, Vihiga, Mombasa, Turkana, Kericho, Nakuru, Kiambu, and Narok.
“The outbreak is being reported in the general population and in refugee camps,” a WHO report states.
In Garissa County, the report shows, the outbreak is affecting mainly Dadaab refugee camps and cases and deaths are being reported fromHagadera, Dagahaleh, and IFO2 camps. In Turkana County, the disease is also affecting Kakuma and Kalobeyei refugee camps.