Wajir County deploys health team for 10-day fumigation to combat Kala-Azar outbreak
In addition to fumigation and spraying, the trained health team will conduct awareness campaigns to educate the public on the signs and symptoms of kala-azar, modes of transmission, incubation period, and preventive measures.
Health officials have been dispatched to Eldas and Wajir West for a 10-day fumigation and spraying exercise targeting sandflies, in an effort to contain the kala-azar disease that has claimed nine lives and infected over 500 people since September.
According to the county health department, the fumigation and spraying intervention aims to cover 6,000 households in the worst-affected sub-counties of Eldas and Wajir West.
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“We aim to reach 6,000 households in this ongoing exercise. The outbreak follows recent floods, which have resulted in widespread vegetation growth and large cracks in the ground—ideal breeding grounds for sandflies, which transmit the disease,” said Mohamed Hassan Maalim, the County Director for Public Health.
He urged community members to adopt preventive measures and seek medical attention promptly if they develop symptoms of the disease.
In addition to fumigation and spraying, the trained health team will conduct awareness campaigns to educate the public on the signs and symptoms of kala-azar, modes of transmission, incubation period, and preventive measures.
Health team spraying and educating members of the public on the kala-Azar outbreak. (Issa Hussein)
Ahmed Guhad, the County Chief Officer for Medical Services, stated that the disease has claimed nine lives since September last year. Speaking at Wajir Referral Hospital three days ago, he noted that all those who succumbed were children under the age of five.
“We currently have over 500 reported cases, with the majority being children under five, mainly from Eldas, Wajir West, and Wajir East constituencies,” he said.
He emphasised that the situation has been exacerbated by overstretched health facilities, a lack of testing kits, and the remoteness of some affected areas, which has hindered an effective response.
Hassan Abass Ahmed, the County Director of Medical Services, stated that Wajir Referral Hospital has been overwhelmed by the increasing number of kala-azar patients seeking admission. This has forced medics to refer patients to Makoror Hospital, while sub-county health centres in Giriftu (Wajir West) and Eldas have begun admitting patients instead of referring them to Wajir Referral Hospital.
He added that additional paediatric wards have been created at Wajir Referral Hospital to accommodate the rising number of infected children. However, he expressed concern over delays in obtaining test results from national government laboratories in Nairobi, Nakuru, and Kisumu, as well as a shortage of drugs used to treat the disease.
Health team spraying and educating members of the public on the kala-Azar outbreak. (Issa Hussein)
Two weeks ago, Wajir Governor Ahmed Abdullahi visited Wajir Referral Hospital to assess the outbreak, stating that the increasing number of patients had placed immense strain on the hospital’s capacity.
“The rising number of patients has overwhelmed Wajir Referral Hospital, with a shortage of beds and testing kits posing a significant challenge to effective treatment and containment efforts,” he said.
The governor directed the hospital management to expedite the provision of additional beds and ensure a steady supply of test kits to manage the surge effectively.
He further stated that the county government is working closely with the State Department of Health and other partners to curb the spread of the disease and ensure timely medical intervention for those affected.
Kala-azar, also known as visceral leishmaniasis, is caused by the Leishmania parasite and is transmitted through sandfly bites.
According to health experts, symptoms of the disease include weight loss, prolonged fever, diarrhoea, fatigue, anaemia, and an enlarged spleen and liver. If left untreated, it can become life-threatening.
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