Thika West sub-county Public Health Officer Peter Mburu has appealed to residents living in the slum areas of Kiandutu, Gachagi and other informal settlements in the area to desist from using mosquito nets given to them for unintended purposes.
Mburu, speaking in his Thika Town office on Friday, noted that many slum dwellers were not making proper use of the mosquito nets provided to them at public health facilities to protect themselves from mosquito bites.
"It beats logic why the government should spend too much in malaria protective measures and at the same end up even spending more treating the same people it was protecting," said Mburu.
The health officer said that a team of health officials has, however, been dispatched in those areas to sensitise residents on the needs to use the mosquito nets especially on children. Mburu further noted that mosquito breeding had multiplied hundred-fold due to the presence of stagnant water in many areas as a result of the ongoing rains.
"This is the time that the residents require the nets than ever before and that is why we have dispatched a team to go on the ground and sensitise residents to make proper use of the mosquito nets," Mburu said.