CHOLERA OUTBREAK INVESTIGATION IN LAMU COUNTY, DECEMBER 2023
Lamu County has not reported any cholera case since the year 2012. As at December 02, 2023, a total of 103 cases and 2 deaths had been reported from Lamu county. At the time, only Lamu county was reporting Cholera cases in the country, with the Case Fatality Rate of 1.9% (2/103). All the cases were from Mkomani (102) and Shella (1) wards in Lamu Central Sub-county. A total of 20 villages had been affected with three reporting majority of the cases including; Kashmir village at 23.3% (24/103), Kandahar 19.4% (20/103) and India 17.5% (18/103). All the cases were reported from Lamu County Referral Hospital at 95.1% (98) and Langoni Hospital 4.9% (5) cases.
The investigation helped determine the actual burden of cholera, identify potential risk factors and strengthen the public health system to improve cholera management, control, and prevention. At the end of the investigation, the findings and recommendations from the investigation were disseminated to various stakeholders including the Ministry of Health at both the county and national levels, and other stakeholders.