The department of public health in Nakuru has projected that diarrhoea cases in the county will drop sharply in the next three months.
The latest data indicates that cases have dropped by over 10 per cent due to handwashing measures meant to curb the spread of Covid-19.
According to the county, the sensitisation in the community and ongoing campaign to battle the pandemic has played a key role in bringing down the diarrhoea cases.
As per the data from the 10 subcounty hospitals, 14,384 cases were recorded in January but by last month, the number had dropped to 12,394.
Public Health chief officer Samuel King’ori said handwashing, personal hygiene and availability of water had played a part in the decline.
King’ori said they expected the figures for April to drop further due to the increased campaign on handwashing in the wake of Covid-19 outbreak.
“We have seen a sharp decline in the number of diarrhoea cases which is a big plus in the health department and we attribute this to public awareness and concerted efforts from our staff,” he said.
Nakuru PGH Superintendent Joseph Mburu said the provision of toilets in rural areas had also played a part in bringing down the cases.
Mburu said they expected improvement in the coming months.
“The county has committed a lot of money towards health and we can now see results in reported cases of diseases which are on the decline,” he said.
On upper respiratory tract infections, the data indicates that the cases have shot up from 71,897 in January to 76,408 in March.
Naivasha Subcounty Hospital had the highest number recording 12,649 in January and 12,365 in March while Subukia Hospital had the lowest at 3,312 in January and 3,115 in March.
King’ori attributed this to an increase in the population in the county, with person-to-person contact contributing to the rise.
“These infections include nasal obstruction, sore throat, tonsillitis, laryngitis, sinusitis and the common cold. These infections always increase during the cold seasons and can be easily transmitted from one person to another,” he said.
King’ori said the county had acquired enough medical equipment and supplies to deal with the infections and had placed enough measures to stop the spread of Covid-19.
Mburu said disease burden in the county had not changed adding that surveillance and provision of proper medication had been increased.
“Before, very few people opted to buy medicine over the counter but with the provision of affordable and quality services in the county hospitals, the number of those seeking treatment has risen,” he said.
Notable on the report is the increase in the cases of intestinal worms from 2,370 to 2,634 in the three-month period.
Edited by R.Wamochie
