Kenya faces worst epidemic in 10 years

• Of the 230 deaths reported, nearly half have occurred in the last one month alone

The chief executive officer at Kenyatta National Hospital Jotham Micheni says what the country is facing could be a full scale cholera outbreak and should be treated as a national emergency.

Dr Micheni, whose hospital is treating five cholera patients daily from city slums, describes this as a silent epidemic, which requires urgent intervention by the public, the government and the private sector.

To change the tide, minister Beth Mugo wants Sh500 million in emergency funding to cope with the disease, the bulk of which is expected to go to water chlorination as a short term measure.

Medical experts are asking the government to weigh the possibility of introducing cholera vaccine to vulnerable groups. Such groups, say Dr Nicholas Ochieng’ of KNH, could include food handlers.

Dr Charles Chunge, a medical consultant and specialist on travel medicine says the cost of the vaccine that’s already in the country could be steep at about Sh3,000 for two doses, but if the government bought in bulk the prices could go down.