9 people have succumbed to kala-azar in Wajir — official

Nine lives have so far been lost to kala-azar in Wajir county since its outbreak in September last year, county chief officer for medical services Ahmed Guhad has said.

Speaking to the press at the county referral hospital, Guhad said all the nine who have succumbed are children.

“We currently have over 370 cases of the disease reported and majority are children under five years of age majorly from Eldas, Wajir West and Wajir East constituencies,” he said.

He further said Eldas health facility leads with the highest record of the kala-azar cases with more than 150 patients while Arbajan has more than 130.

He said 84 per cent of the cases handled in the county’s health facilities are children under five as compared to the 0.4 per cent cases of patients who belonged to the age bracket of 30-40 years.

Guhad said the devolved unit had set up additional wards at Wajir County Referral Hospital to help contain the infection cases in Wajir North.

The situation has been exacerbated by health facilities capacities, lack of testing kits and at times remoteness of the affected areas thus hindering effective mitigation efforts, treatment and access to health care.

Last Tuesday, Wajir Governor Ahmed Abdullahi visited the hospital to assess the situation firsthand and engage with the management and healthcare workers.

He said following the outbreak, there has been a sharp increase of referrals, overwhelming the Wajir County Referral Hospital, adding that he had directed the hospital management to fast-track provision of additional beds and ensure a steady supply of test kits to manage the surge effectively.

He made a clarion call to residents and health stakeholders to help address the disease in the county. He also assured them that his administration is working closely with the national government and other stakeholders to help avert further spread of the disease and deaths.

“I call for calm as we work on the modalities of containing and completely eradicating this disease in our county. I urge residents to remain vigilant, seek early treatment and adhere to health guidelines,” the CoG chairman said.

He reiterated that the county department of medical services was facing a myriad of challenges such as inadequate medical supplies and overloaded facilities.

He also decried the high costs of full treatment of a Kala-azar patient takes between seven and nine days at a cost of at least Sh30,000 but depending on the treatment regimen, hospitalization duration and the type of health facility involved.

Wajir County Referral Hospital has also documented two other kala-azar cases of patients from Kutulo Mandera county.

Red Cross Society, Wajir county coordinator Suleiman Saney said on phone that they are currently mobilising funds and collaborative efforts of other stakeholders to the rescue of the affected residents.