Cholera cases rise in Kenya's capital, top hospital says

[April 16, 2019]  NAIROBI (Reuters) - The Kenyan capital has experienced a jump in cholera cases, one of the city's top hospitals said on Tuesday, adding that eight of its own staff had been infected by the disease.

"There is an upsurge of cholera cases in the county of Nairobi. We have had several cases admitted in our hospital. Unfortunately we had 8 staff affected," The Nairobi Hospital, which is private, said in a statement.

The statement gave no figures for how many cases the hospital now suspected there were in the city.

The hospital, which has some of the most advanced facilities in the city, said it had put in "all precautionary measures".

There was no immediate comment from health ministry and local government officials.

The disease, which is spread by ingesting fecal matter, causes acute watery diarrhea and can kill within hours if not treated.

At least four people were killed and dozens more treated when another outbreak of the disease hit the city in 2017, causing authorities to shut down some restaurants.

(Reporting by Humphrey Malalo; Writing by Duncan Miriri; Editing by Peter Graff)

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