KENYA – Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) has called on the government to roll out a vaccination drive to curb infections caused by the cholera outbreak.

According to Nation, KEMRI wants vaccines that have been approved by the World Health Organisation (WHO) administered to stem a resurgence of cholera.

“The poor water, sanitation and hygiene (WaSH) infrastructure in urban and informal settlements (sewer disposal, open drains) is driving the spread of cholera,” said Prof. Sam Kariuki, who is the director of the centre for microbiology research at KEMRI.

“There has been general laxity in WaSH habits (especially handwashing after Covid-19) that could be one the factors contributing to the spread of cholera as faecal-orally transmitted diarrhoeal disease.”

On the ongoing cholera outbreak, Prof. Kariuki explained the first cases were initially detected in informal settlements east of Nairobi in June 2021, and then in October 2022 a large outbreak (66 individuals hospitalised) in Limuru Sub-county, Kiambu County following a wedding.

Recently, the country recorded 109 new cases from eight counties, adding the cumulative number of confirmed cases since the onset of the outbreak last October to 4,295.

By last week, about 82 people had died of cholera, a fatality rate of about two per cent. WHO describes cholera as an acute diarrhoeal disease that can kill within hours if left untreated despite it being preventable.

So far, 14 of the 47 counties have recorded at least five cases of cholera. Garissa Country has the highest-burden with more than 1,000 people testing positive for the disease.

Other counties that have recorded cases include; Tana River (659), Nairobi (595), Kiambu (356), Machakos (267), Wajir (265), Meru (85), Nyeri (55), Murang’a (39), Homa Bay (29), Kitui (27), Kajiado (21), Uasin Gishu (8), and Nakuru (5).

The vaccines call came as KEMRI presented the latest findings from a study on quantitatively assessing 15 pathways through which the population in informal settlements may be exposed to faecal contamination and cholera.

Prof. Kariuki further revealed that, according to their findings, from October last year, the majority of the cases have been recorded in densely populated areas like Soweto (36), Kayole (14), Eastleigh (6), Dandora (6).

More men, compared to women, are being infected but the margin of the difference is quite small.

Unfortunately, children are the worst hit as about 40 per cent of infections are in children aged between 0 and 10 per cent.

While the rate of infections between men and women is almost the same, a high percentage of men have died. Data from the Health ministry shows that 78 per cent of the cumulative deaths were from men.

The attack rate of the disease varies from different counties, and this shows that counties with the most infections have a higher attack rate compared to those with fewer numbers.

Garissa and Tana River counties have an attack rate of more than 200 people per 100,000 in their population.

The Health ministry’s data shows that counties with the highest burden are also the same ones that are drought-stricken.

The ministry has also acknowledged that drought is an impediment in the fight against the disease because both the outbreak and drought are competing issues that need an emergency response.

For all the latest healthcare industry news from Africa and the World, subscribe to our NEWSLETTER, and YouTube Channel, follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn, and like us on Facebook.