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Families cry for jab as Hepatitis B claims loved ones

 Baringo County’s Samuel Kiptala and his wife display medical records of their sons who died after they were diagnosed with Hepatitis B. [PHOTO: KIPSANG JOSEPH/STANDARD]

BARINGO: It is Sunday afternoon and the residents of Chemintany village in Kinyach Location, Baringo County have gathered under a tamarind tree to avoid the scorching sun.

Seated at the edge of a piece of wood suspended on several rocks, grey-haired Teriki Chebet gazed as a village elder explained a matter all so familiar in his heart. 

The pain is written all over her face, as she turns the opposite direction, wiping away tears.

She is among several families that have painfully watched the lives of their loved ones wiped out by Hepatitis B. “Five years ago my son Laban Kangor died after a short illness.

It was during his burial when I heard mourners talk about this hepatitis,” she says.

At the homestead of Samuel Kiptala, two graveyards are the teary reminder of the disease. His son Elijah died in June 2011, aged 30, while 23-year-old Abraham, followed this year.

“When Elijah was admitted at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH), it was his brother Abraham who took care of him. Unfortunately, this was the time he was infected with the disease,”, laments the father.

MEDICAL RECORDS

A third son, Gadleon Kiptala, a student at Kisii University, is under medication. So far, their parents claim to have spent close to Sh500,000 in their treatment alone.

Kinyach acting chief Jackson Kiplalon indicates that more than 40 people have succumbed to the diseased since 2000.

“More than 4,000 people in the three sub-locations are at risk if no action is taken now.

We have organised for harambees to raise medical bills and for funeral purposes and the agony should come to an end,” said the administrator.

Ironically, his mother Teriki Kiplalon was a victim of the deadly disease in 2000.

Medical records indicate that in Chemintany village alone, Keino Kengor, Abraham Boit, Elijah Chemelil and Paul Amdany are among those who have succumbed to the virus between the year 2011 and this year.

The worst affected areas along the Kerio Valley belt include, Ayatya, Kuikui, Kalabata and Marengut. Scores of others residing here too suffer from this disease. Besides, children and youth developing grey hair has become a common phenomenon.

Hepatitis B is spread when blood, semen, or other body fluid infected with the Hepatitis B virus enters the body of an uninfected person.

UNDER CONTROL

People can become infected with the virus during birth, when they sweat or when they engage in sex with an infected partner.

Interestingly, acting chief officer of health Richard Koech described the situation as not that serious and asked the residents to stop panicking.

“We are aware of that outbreak, the county is in the process of acquiring the drugs and I can assure you that everything is under control”, he said.

But this does not assuage the grief in 42-year-old Elina Amdany, whose husband Paul and father of their nine children, succumbed to the decease in 2011.

“The chief officers must climb down the high tower and come to the ground. He should come and witness our cry”, said the widow. This year, Paul’s brother, Daniel Kokwon was also diagnosed with Hepatitis B but unfortunately passed away while undergoing treatment at MTRH Eldoret in February, leaving behind a widow and several children. He was only admitted for two weeks in hospital.

“He enjoyed good health until when he complained of headache, stomach pains, vomited blood and his eyes turned yellow.

Doctors struggled to save his life but it was discovered the late had reached the final stages”, says the widow.

Scared but unbowed, she sold two cows and vaccinated the rest of the family members thrice with a single dose costing Sh520. Chemintany Primary School head teacher, Jocab Serem said no one in the area was sure of their health status, noting that the disease was highly infectious.

“It has gripped tension among school kids, Government should vaccinate us”, he appealed.

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