Parents blamed for malaria deaths

Kakamega Governor Wycliffe Oparanya has blamed the deaths of the 37 children who succumbed to malaria on negligence of parents.

He accused the parents of taking their children to hospital when it was too late.

In his Madakara Day speech, Mr Oparanya said most parents only take their children to hospital when home remedies fail to work.

“With the outbreak, why would you wait or try home-made medicines yet you have witnessed children dying? It calls for self-discipline to win the fight,” he said.

At least 603 children were currently being treated at the county referral hospital, said the governor.

He said shortage of nurses and the large number of patients had overstretched facilities at the hospital, sparking a crisis.

“We have other problems as well, which might be causing the deaths, but parents should be on the look-out because the campaign to contain the outbreak has been complicated by delayed treatment,” said Mr Oparanya. He asked parents to seek the free ambulance services offered by the county government to help save lives.

Dr Augustine Ajevi, the hospital medical superintendent, said most of the children were in critical condition and died while undergoing treatment.

“The children brought for treatment are always in very critical condition, they die while we are administering treatment,” said Dr Ajevi.

County executive for Health Penina Mukabane asked parents to seek early treatment for their children.

“Most of the deaths could have been avoided if the parents had visited health facilities on time,” said Ms Mukabane.

The county has started a campaign to ensure that expectant mothers and children sleep under nets to avoid malaria infection, which peaks during the rainy season.

Last year, 38 children died from malaria while 518 were treated at the county hospital. This year, 37 have died while 603 have been hospitalised.

At the same time, Nakuru Governor Kinuthia Mbugua has assured residents that cholera is under control.

Mr Mbugua said 247 cases had been attended to and regretted that 16 lives had been lost.

He said food stalls which had not complied with sanitation standards had been closed to contain the spread of cholera.

However, the governor said two new cases of cholera had been reported and county public health officials had started a door-to-door campaign against cholera in affected estates.

He said the two patients were being treated at Nakuru General Hospital.

In Kiambu, the county government has started a campaign to contain the spread of cholera, which has so far claimed four lives.

Mr Dominic Gicheru, the chief officer in charge of administration and public service, said at least 65 people had been treated for the disease at Thika Level 5 Hospital since the outbreak about a month ago.

Additional reporting by Getrude Nyambura and James Kariuki