Monday, December 31, 2012

Mandera Disease outbreak



By Zahra Rashid
Main symptoms of dengue fever.

Hundreds of people have reportedly been affected by Dengue fever in Mandera County in northern Kenya.

Health officials at Mandera District Hospital are battling to contain the deadly disease that is spreading across the county.  It is said that the dry area which is enabling it to spread to quickly

They confirmed receiving over a hundred patients with symptoms of the Dengue fever.

This is the third time residents in the county are affected by the disease which is transmitted by mosquitoes.

Medics in the area have attributed the spread of the disease of poor sanitation that has led to ideal breeding grounds for the mosquitoes.

Residents have been urged to maintain high hygiene standards, sleep under treated mosquito nets to curb the number of the affected people by the disease.

Another challenge in the town is limited health facilities and lack of proper reporting and identification of the mosquitos borne disease.

Dengue fever which is similar to malaria is said to have symptoms including fever, headache, pain behind the eyes, join and muscle pain, vomiting, mouth bleeding and difficulty in breathing.

The health officials sated that the disease at the moment has no cure, but with proper care and treatment, it is likely to vanish within three weeks.

According to the World Health Organization, over 100M of cases of Dengue infections are reported globally every year with more cases from North East Asia.

Zahra@hiiraan.com

Nairobi Kenya

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