Cholera kills 48 in one month

• Water scarcity across country blamed for rise in infections

Forty eight people have died of cholera in the last one month alone, the government has confirmed.

Among the hardest hit is Turkana Central District, where 23 people have died of the disease, according to figures released by Public Health minister Beth Mugo.

A tally by the Nation indicates that some 120 lives have been cut short by the contagious disease since it was first reported in December last year, while another 3,872 have been reported ill in 38 districts across the country.

Mutomo District in Eastern Province leads the infection rate, with 1,409 confirmed cases, followed closely by Turkana Central with 1,003 cases.
Mrs Mugo attributed the upsurge to water scarcity and asked people to mind their hygiene.

She gave the example of Mutomo, where River Athi, the main water source for the community, had been contaminated with organisms that cause the disease.

Her caution came as it emerged that more than 100 victims of the disease in the district risked being detained by a private hospital over unpaid bills.

Through MP Isaac Muoki, the patients appealed to the government to waive their bills at the Mutomo Mission Hospital.

Sr Cathleen Rooney, the administrator of the mission hospital which had attended to 1,260 cholera patients by yesterday, said its capacity had been overstretched, while area medical officer of health Patrick Mutuku asked the hospital to waive the bills as part of its community service.