Barely three months after Garissa County was declared cholera-free, new cases have been reported in the Dadaab refugee complex sending panic across the border county.
At least six cases have been recorded at Hagdera refugee camp according to Garissa County health department.
Mr Adan Hussein, the county director for health said the first case was discovered on October 9.
“We are faced with a second wave of cholera but we have activated our response including setting up emergency tents and supplying all the necessary medical equipment,” he said.
He said the emergency team on the ground is only working on refurbishing the cholera treatment centre that had been used earlier.
“We are in the process of activating our treatment center and starting the community awareness program early enough so that we can be able to control the spread of the killer disease,” Mr Hussein said.
Garissa County administration has already dispatched community health workers to the refugee camp for the purpose of public health awareness.
“We are keenly monitoring the situation at Hagadera with the aim of having it contained within. We are taking necessary precautionary measures to ensure the disease does not spread outside the current locality,” he said.
The currently reported outbreak in the refugee camp puts the host community at risk due to the free movement of people within Daadab allows interaction leading to the spread of the disease.
Speaking in Garissa, Dr Ibrahim Noor, a technical personnel with World Health Organization (WHO) in Kenya said the agency was prepared to support the Garissa county government.
“We are well prepared to respond to the unfolding health situation and much more expected with the coming el-nino rains. We are donating medical supplies including kits and beds to be used at the cholera treatment centers,” he said.
He said WHO was willing to provide more supplies in response to medical emergencies.
“We are soon supporting integrated training in Fafi and Dadaan sub-counties in readiness for the expected emergencies,” he said.
Currently, WHO has offered medical supplies worth Ksh10 million but promised to increase the support.
The Ministry of Health has previously conducted cholera vaccinations at the camps.
