By KENNEDY OKOMBO and ISAAC OCHIENG

Poor sanitation and shortage of clean water have been sighted as the major causes of cholera in Migori County with currently 88 cases witnessed in parts of Suna West and Nyatike sub counties.

The county director for health services Dr.Joel Gondi has said that the outbreak is as a result of shortage of clean water in Masara and Radienya secondary schools, Kowino and in villages of Mikei and Wuoth Orumo in Nyatike Sub County.

“Dry spell has lead to another wave of cholera outbreak as institutions can no longer have adequate clean water forcing students to consume unsafe water of River Misiwi which serves the livestock posing health hazards in the region,” he said.

The health officer confirmed that 12 students from Masara secondary school have been treated of the disease and three are admitted at the county referral hospital as they continue to receive medical attention from the health officers.

The outbreak has come also as a result of negligence and poor use of toilets and the failure to change lifestyle by use of toilets and maintenance of high sanitation practices by residents of the county.

“Poor sanitation and failure to effectively use toilets has brought the new outbreak as at first the department had controlled and put measures in place to curb the disease but poor sanitation and negligence has escalated it,” he said.

The department has also put measures to curb the spread of the disease by imparting a ban on all food stuff being hawked in many towns of Migori County as a way of controlling the disease.

The hawking of food in the markets and other trading centres will also be banned as measure to curb the disease so that the residents can get food and water from clean eating joints and food cafes.

“The health officials will move around to ban and arrest anybody found hawking food like maize, bananas, groundnuts and mandazis in many towns in the county as a precaution to control the spread,”he added.

Most food joint owners have also been asked to observe high standards of hygiene in preparation and services for the customers as those found flouting the hygiene standards will be arrested and charged in court and therefore all the food kiosks and eating joints in the county must have commendable standards of hygiene.

“All the owners of food joints will be required to observe higher hygienic standards in their places of work in order to serve their customers clean and appropriate food and drinks,” he said.

He also went ahead to ask the neighboring counties of Homa Bay and Kisii to help them control the disease as the residents of the two counties interact in various forums.