Twenty children have died from pneumonia in the last one month in Nakuru county.
Another 117 cases have been confirmed in various health facilities suffering from viral pneumonia with some coming from nearby counties.
“We have so far lost twenty minors in the last couple of weeks from different parts of the
county
while others are admitted to various health facilities,” Nakuru county chief executive officer in charge of health Mungai
Kabii
said on Wednesday.
Following the outbreak, samples have been sent to Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) for tests as medics embarked on containing the disease.
Mungai identified Nakuru North as the most affected with many of the minors treated at the Rift Valley Provincial hospital with the main symptoms being high fever, weakness, sweating and cough.
He said that the outbreak had affected minors aged between one day and eleven months adding that they had so far collected culture samples and sent them for further tests.
The new development comes at a time when the county is coping with an outbreak of cholera which has so far claimed seventeen lives since last year.
“We are not sure what kind of virus is causing pneumonia
and we have sent samples to KEMRI for further analysis and we expect results by
Thursday,” he said.
He noted that the Rift Valley Provincial hospital was the most affected as the ailing minors from different parts of the county were been referred there.
Parents whose minors were suffering from high fever and cough have called upon to seek medical attention with immediate effect.
Speaking to the Star on
phone, the superintendent in charge of the Provincial General Hospital
Dr
John Murima confirmed that four deaths had occurred in the facility over the weekend.
He admitted that the facility was receiving a high number of minors referred from other hospitals in the county for treatment.
“Majority of the minors we have so far received are from other parts of the
county
and they are coming here for specialized treatment,” he said.