Public health officers in Mavoko Sub County have embarked on hand washing sensitisation to prevent cholera outbreak in the region.
Led by the sub county's public health officer, Godfrey Mutuku, all divisional public health officers from the area have engaged residents within their jurisdictions in the campaign, to prevent the disease's re-occurrence as experienced in the year 2008.
Mutuku said the awareness creation was intended to prevent not only cholera but all illnesses caused by poor sanitation and handling food with dirty hands, diseases that could be eliminated by hand washing.
"Simple proper hand washing with clean water and soap can reduce the diseases by 80 per cent," said Mutuku.
The officer said his office had adopted hand wash sensitisation strategy due to the high prevalence of diarrheal diseases among Mavoko residents especially children.
He said water scarcity in Ukambani had made its inhabitants more vulnerable to such diseases than other regions of the country.
"Most people wash their hands with dirty water, some think when from bathroom or washing clothes then their hands are clean," Mutuku said.
According to Mutuku, the purpose of proper hand washing was to eliminate bacteria responsible for infections and therefore not any water was safe.
He encouraged residents to also embrace proper disposal of human wastes by ensuring access to toilets.
The PHO made the remarks during launch of the campaign at Athi River Primary School on Tuesday, where Mavoko, Kanaani, St. Pauls, and KMC Primary schools all attended with intent of being health ambassadors.
Athi River district experienced a fatal cholera outbreak in the year 2008 that left hundreds of women and children dead, situation the medical officers said they were keen to avert.