Thika West Deputy Public Health Officer Jane Wanyoike has cautioned roadside food sellers against selling food near open sewer lines.
Wanyoike who was speaking in Kiboko estate in Thika on Tuesday, said that food sold along those sewer lines was at a high risk of getting contaminated.
"We urge those roadside food sellers with food kiosks near open sewer lines or waste water trenches to move away from those areas," Wanyoike said.
She said that spread of diseases like cholera could spread easily if residents continued to eat from joints in such areas. Wanyoike further pointed out that many food joints had mushroomed in areas considered high risk and promised to close them down soon.
"The rains are still at the peak and we cannot risk having food being sold in unhygienic areas and conditions," she said.
However, food sellers in such areas in the estate could not agree with the health officer.
"If there are open sewers near where we operate, it is not our fault. The county government is to blame as it is the one responsible for public sanitation," John Kuria, a mutura seller said.
Seraphine Nungari who operates a food joint near a roadside waste water trench said that such drainages should be moved away to areas away from the roadside where many food joints operate.