City Hall raids food premises following rise in cholera cases
By EDWIN MBUTHIACity hall is cracking down on illegal food outlets following a recent cholera outbreak as reports indicate that up to five people have recently died from the disease.
County Health inspectors were Thursday targeting illegal abattoirs operating along Jogoo road where the famous Burma market is located.
Speaking during the raid where two people were arrested, Dr Charles Makori from the county’s veterinary department said that they would continue carrying out the raids to discourage the vice.
“We have designated slaughter houses where professionals ensure meat is safe and we urge traders to take their meat there,” he said.
Dr Makori added that they had been surveying the area since Friday but did not give the exact number of slaughterhouses that had been found to be operating illegally across the county.
The two people arrested during the raid will be charged in the county court.
OUTBREAKS
On Feb 3, the Director of Medical Services in Kenya issued a cholera outbreak alert following an increase in cases of Acute Watery Diarrhoea (AWD) in several counties across the country. Cholera outbreaks were confirmed in Homa Bay, Migori and Nairobi counties.
As of February 16, a total of 805 cases and 12 deaths have been reported countrywide. In Homa Bay, there were 122 cases and three deaths; 637 cases and seven deaths in Migori and 46 cases in Nairobi.
Migori currently has the largest number of the cholera cases in the country, accounting for 79 per cent of the 805 reported cases. The outbreak began towards the end of January 2015 with a sudden rise in cases between 9 – 10 February 2015.
In Nairobi, cholera and related illnesses have been reported in Kibera, Mathare and Kawangware areas and have been rising following the start of the rainy season.