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IRC responds to cholera outbreak in Dadaab refugee camp
The massive Dadaab refugee camp complex in Kenya, seen from the air.
Photo: Brendan Bannon/UNCHR
DADAAB, Kenya -
International Rescue Committee medical staff members have been treating cases of cholera since mid-September in Hagadera refugee camp, part of the massive Dadaab refugee complex in northeastern Kenya. Almost half of the patients contracted the disease in the camp, which is home to 146,000 people who fled drought and conflict in Somalia. The rest were infected in towns on the Somali border, where a cholera outbreak has also been declared.
“So far we have received 18 cases at the hospital we run in Hagadera,” said Dr. Samora Otieno, the IRC’s senior health coordinator in Kenya. “As of this morning (October 1), tests confirm that 12 of the 18 have the disease, and the other six are awaiting test results. Three patients are currently being treated in an isolation ward and are in stable condition.”
Cholera is a highly contagious, deadly disease. It causes severe diarrhea and vomiting and can result in dehydration and death within hours if not detected and treated quickly. To ensure the disease doesn’t spread, IRC community health workers, with the help of the community and religious leaders, are working day and night to raise awareness door-to-door and scale up health education activities.
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