At least nine hospitalised in Migingo cholera outbreak
A view of Migingo Island on Lake Victoria. At least nine people are hospitalised in Migori County following a fresh cholera outbreak on the Migingo Island. FILE PHOTO |
What you need to know:
Six Kenyans and three Ugandans are being treated for vomiting and diarrhoea.
Migingo attracts fishermen and traders from Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.
A fresh cholera outbreak has been reported in Migori County.
At least nine people from the disputed Migingo Island in Lake Victoria have been admitted to hospitals in the mainland.
Six Kenyans and three Ugandans are being treated for vomiting and diarrhoea.
Migingo beach management unit boss John Obunge admitted that sanitation on the island was poor.
Fishermen and traders relieve themselves in the open. The small island has very few pit latrines.
ASSISTANT CHIEF
“We ask the government to send us cholera drugs or we could all contract the disease,” he said yesterday.
Migingo attracts fishermen and traders from Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania because the area teems with Nile perch species of fish, locally known as mbuta.
The beach chairman also requested Kenyan authorities to set up a dispensary on the island.
“Because we have an assistant chief, it means the government recognises that Migingo is part of Kenya despite the dispute with Uganda,” he said.
Migori Chief Health Officer Dalmas Oyugi, however, said measures had been taken to stop the possible spread of the deadly disease.
