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52 Nairobi Hospital staff have so far tested positive for cholera, a statement issued by facility’s communication officer Tom Simba on Thursday has revealed.
This is a rapid rise from a total of eight workers who were earlier infected by the dreaded water-borne disease which has invited the attention of both county and national governments.
On Tuesday, April 16, 2019, Nairobi Hospital confirmed having handled 23 cases but remained tight-lipped on whether its own worker had died of the diseases.
“We have established that in the last 10 days, the Hospital admitted, offered treatment and discharged 23 patients. Eight of those reported cases were from the Nairobi Hospital staff,” the Hospital noted.
Yesterday, the Nairobi County Government went on to alleviate fears of the spread of disease, saying that noted cases are completely under control.
Its statement read: “We have reviewed the situation and are satisfied that the hospital has put in place sufficient mechanisms to deal with the situation. The 23 patients are adequately isolated and the necessary infection prevention control measures are being observed and the patients are recovering well.”
City Hall’s assurance preceded Tuesday incident where a male worker at the Nairobi Hospital reportedly succumbed to a water-borne disease after what was termed as a ‘short illness.’ The hospital management reacted by shutting down the cafeteria at the facility indefinitely.
Neither the Hospital nor the County Government linked his death to cholera. Nairobi County noted on its Wednesday statement: “So far, there is no confirmed cholera fatality in the facility.”
It further revealed that its county health officers are tracing any individuals suspected to have been in contact with the patients to curb the spread of the disease.
Getting worse?
But the cholera outbreak could be spilling over the boundaries of Nairobi County, if the latest statement by the Ministry of Health is to go by.
“We wish to draw the attention of the public to the cases of cholera that have been reported in the counties of Narok, Kajiado, Nairobi, Garissa and Machakos,” reads a statement from the Ministry of Health, released on Thursday afternoon.
The Government has however said that it has dispatched rapid response teams to manage the outbreak in various affected counties. Such it says are in the forms of surveillance to identify areas of outbreaks as well as Cholera treatment centres.
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