A suspected cholera outbreak killed two children in the Kaghui area in Kyuso, Kitui county on Monday.
On Tuesday, public health officials and police officers visited the affected families and six other people were admitted to Kyuso subcounty hospital.
Kyuso subcounty police commander Nicholas Mutua said police had to forcefully take the patients to hospital because they belonged to the Kavonokya sect that neither takes medicine nor goes to hospitals when sick.
Subcounty medical officer Dr Stephen Kioli confirmed that the six patients—four adults and two children were admitted.
"I cannot confirm whether it is cholera or another infectious ailment but the symptoms are vomiting, diarrhoea and body weakness and that is associated with cholera," Dr Kioli said.
He said the two children died without getting any medical attention as their parents did not take them to the hospital.
"We have admitted six patients in isolation and we have put them on the drip to rehydrate them because they are in a bad state," he said.
He added that a health team has already been dispatched to the affected village and they expect to bring in more patients.
"We have already taken samples from the patients and sent them to Nairobi for analysis. We are waiting for the results," Kioli said.
