Cholera cases rise in Kenya, crossing 7,500 mark

Cholera patients receiving treatment. [File, Standard]

The number of cholera cases in Kenya have risen significantly in the past six months, records by the Ministry of Health show.

Since October 2022, the country has recorded 7,570 cholera cases in 17 counties.

A Health ministry report dated March 23, 2023 said 3,943 of the cholera patients are male, while 3,627 are female.

Children below the age of 10, who have been confirmed to have cholera, are 2,718 in number.

Garissa County tops in the number of cholera cases with 2,163. It is followed by Mandera (1,464) and Nairobi (1,196).

Other counties that have confirmed cholera cases are Tana River (762), Wajir (655), Kiambu (402), Machakos (388), Kajiado (235), Meru (85), Nyeri (55), Homa Bay (51), Murang'a (44), Kitui (27), West Pokot (16), Nakuru (13), Uasin Gishu (8) and Bomet (6).

So far, 121 people have died of the disease in the country.

Forty-one (41) of the cholera-caused deaths have been confirmed in Nairobi County. Tana River County follows with 18 deaths. Others are Garissa (12), Wajir (12), Machakos (11), Mandera (10), Kiambu (5), Kitui (4), Meru (3), Homa Bay (3) and Kajiado (2).

In terms of the gender of those who have succumbed to the disease, male victims are more (94), compared to female victims (27).

Between March 13 and March 23 this year, 545 new cases were reported, with Mandera and Nairobi recording the highest number of new infections at 168 and 162 respectively.