In an article written by Jeffrey Gettleman on December 4, 2009, explains that an epidemic is taking over Kenya, with 4,700 cases of cholera reported in the past month along with 119 deaths. Kenyan officials are claiming that this is one of the worst outbreaks Kenya has seen in over a decade. In certain areas of Kenya, rain has been scant, leaving very little clean water. Kenyans in these areas are living off of dirty and contaminated water, which is how cholera spreads. The drought has left many weak and malnourished, which leads to decreased immune system function, only making the epidemic worse. A member of the aid group, World Vision, explained that people are coming down from hills very very sick and nobody is really sure of how bad it is up there yet. Cholera is a diarrheal disease caused by bacterial infection. Those who become infected by cholera could die within a day if not treated. The disease is easily spreadable, for example, by taking a drink out of an infected persons cup.
The best treatment for cholera is rehydration salts to restore fluids. In order to prevent the greater spread of cholera, hand washing is the most important protection. The only problem with hand washing, is that most of the water is contaminated, making it difficult to find water that is suitable for cleansing. A cholera alert was issued and $7.5 million dollars would be needed for medicine and testing kits.
Although we mostly hear of HIV and AIDS in Africa, cholera seems to be another major disease that should not be overlooked. I chose to focus on this topic because it is related to health care and also because I do not know much about cholera. It is very sad to know that without treatment, those infected could die within days. Not only is it sad, but the fact that they do not have treatment materials yet means that many will die before the government can provide the money for those materials. It is hard to slow an epidemic such as this, because clean water is scarce.
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