KEMRI Deploys Experts to Turkana as Kala-azar Cases Surge
Most of the affected individuals are pastrolist living along the porous borders of South Sudan , Ethiopia and Uganda.
By Dorothy Yegon
A sharp rise in cases of Kal-azar, a neglected tropical disease has prompted the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) to deploy officials to various parts of Turkana county.
The escalating infections have raised alarm among doctors who are calling for urgent measures to curb the spread of the disease.
According to Turkana Coordinator for Tropical Diseases, James Ekamasi 124 people have been diagnosed with Kala-azar in the last month, sparking fears of larger outbreak.
"we have been sensitising locals through community healthy volunteers because families are hiding patients," Ekamasi revealed.
A team from International centre of insect Physiology and Ecology ( ICIPE) also involved in the efforts, investigating the spread and causes of the disease( KEMRI) senior lab technician , Johnstone ingonga stated that researchers are focusing on the numbers and behavioral patterns of the insects responsible for transmitting Kala-azar.
ICIPE official Evans Okumu emphasised the importance of insect surveillance to understand their behaviour as part of efforts to halt the disease spread. Most of the affected individuals are pastrolist living along the porous borders of South Sudan , Ethiopia and Uganda, areas prone to outbreaks due to limited health care access and high population mobility
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