Outbreak Alert in Striking Counties: The Standard

Kenya has been hit by a wave of preventable epidemics due to the effects of recurrent strikes among health workers.

The World Health Organization's (WHO) current epidemic report, released on Monday, shows that Kenya is suffering from severe epidemics of cholera, measles, Rift Valley fever and dengue.
Between 21 January and 11 February, Kenya reported 716 cholera cases to WHO, mainly in Nairobi, Narok and Kajiado counties.
"Cholera cases continue to be reported in Narok County, with 166 incidents, and in Kajiado County, with 425 cases," according to the WHO report.

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During this period, Nairobi reported a total of 125 cholera incidents, including 26 confirmed cases.
On January 30, the Ministry of Health, according to the report, had notified the WHO of a dengue epidemic in Mombasa County.
Last week, 325 suspected cases of dengue fever were recorded, with 173 confirmed in six sub-counties of Mombasa.
Affected sub-counties include Nyali, Jomvu, Kisauni, Likoni, Changamwe and Mvita.
Since mid-January, 30 human cases of Rift Valley fever have been reported in Murang'a and Nyandarua counties.

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"Animal deaths have also been reported in the affected villages," the report says.
The report also reveals that 335 cases of measles were reported this year. Wajir reported 222 cases, Tana River 102 and Kwale 11. Last year, 746 measles cases were reported in Kenya, an epidemic due to reduced immunization coverage among children due to strikes by health workers and the low priority given by county governments.
While epidemics of cholera, measles, Rift Valley fever and dengue are relatively common in the Horn of Africa, Kenya has by far the highest rates.
For example, while Kenya reported 716 cholera cases, Tanzania reported only 47 cases in the last bulletin and Uganda 53. While Kenya reported 325 cases of dengue fever, Tanzania has reported 38 and none has been reported in Uganda. Kenya reported 335 cases of measles, Ethiopia 136 and South Sudan reported 368 cases. No cases have been reported in Uganda and Tanzania. Last June, following an outbreak of measles, cholera and chikungunya, the Ministry of Health badured Kenyans that it would quickly bring these diseases under control.
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"The Ministry of Health is keen to badure Kenyans that it will continue to monitor and coordinate response efforts to contain and control outbreaks in the country," promised the director of medical services, Dr. Jackson Kioko.
Dr. Kioko blamed epidemics for the inadequacy of available resources to facilitate the implementation of effective interventions.
In the first six months of last year, Dr. Kioko reported that 4,954 cholera cases had been reported in 19 counties in Kenya.
On measles, Dr Kioko said an outbreak at 142 patients had been contained in Wajir and Mandera.
"This epidemic has since been successfully controlled through active case-by-case management and improved outreach services," said Dr. Kioko.

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However, by the end of the year, the ministry had notified 744 cases of measles to the WHO. Since January, 325 cases have been reported.
The measles epidemic has been attributed to recurrent strikes by health workers in the country. The 150-day nurses' strike in 2017 was attributed to a 60% drop in child immunization during the strike period.
Data from 18 reference county hospitals showed that many children were missing or slow to receive strokes that save lives during the strike period.
The counties most affected by the strike were Nyandarua, with a 93% drop in vaccination; Kirinyaga 88.6%; Nairobi 87.9%; and Baringo 80.1%.
A detailed study published in June and supervised by Dr Kioko concluded that Kenya was ill prepared to cope with epidemics and emergencies. The report, published in the journal BMC Public Health, indicated that many public health facilities lacked the capacity to respond to cholera and other emergencies.
"The facilities lacked essential equipment to deal with a cholera outbreak, including supplies to provide vital treatment, as well as the ability to collect and transport samples for diagnostic purposes," a study found.
Kenya is currently on strike nurses in 17 counties, with some regions reporting a total collapse of the public health system.

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Fever in the Rift ValleyOrganized World Health Organization