Residents of Kisumu are counting their losses as feeder roads connecting the town have been rendered impassable due to the heavy rains and floods being experienced in the area. The situation is expected to be grimmer with health officers now raising the red flag over a possibility of an increase of health hazards.
Kisumu East District Public Health Officer, Naphtali Bundi said that a number of pit latrines have collapsed due to destruction by floods and there is likelihood that some water bodies have been contaminated. He warned households against using contaminated water.
Bundi is now warning of the re-emergence of water borne diseases such as cholera, typhoid and bilharzias within the lake side city.
According to the health officer, some water points where Kisumu residents fetch their water from have been filled with contaminated water from burst pipes that ferry waste from sewage systems.
He called upon communities to be watchful of any potential risks to them and their children and urged them to fill any pit latrines that had been dug and are now filled with rain water.
The District Public Health Officer also divulged that community health workers are on the ground educating the public on community health and distributing chlorine granules for water treatment and issuing mosquito nets.
He however warned against the misuse of the nets for fishing.
Bundi emphasized on the importance of treating water before human consumption to get rid of various contaminations.
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