This archive report was first published on 20 June 2020.
Published on June 20, 2020, an outbreak of Kala-Azaar disease has claimed the lives of at least four people in Ngomeni, a ward in Kitui County.
According to reports, 13 others are currently admitted at Garissa County Referral Hospital, with 11 of them being children below the age of 10.
Speaking to the media, Peter Muthengi, a parent whose 5-year-old daughter is being treated at the hospital, expressed concern over the lack of medical facilities in Kitui County.
'It is a shame that residents of Kitui have to seek medical attention as far as Garissa while we have 14 level 4 and 38 hospitals in the county,' Muthengi said.
The disease, caused by sand flies, is prevalent among camel herders in the Tseikuru ward of Mwingi North sub-county, which borders Tana River County.
Peris Joseph, another parent at the hospital, appealed to the Kitui government to send a team of medics to the affected areas to save lives.
Abdullahi Abdi, the nursing officer in charge of Garissa Referral Hospital's pediatric ward, reported that all patients are responding well to treatment and will remain at the facility for another 28 days before being discharged.
