Residents of the Changwame area, Mombasa County, have been left in fear after a mysterious disease claimed the lives of at least four people in a span of one week.
According to local residents, the victims were found dead in their homes. Their bodies displayed abnormal characteristics, such as boil-like sores, darker skin that looked burnt and was peeling, and a foul odour.
Residents claim cases of the mysterious illness have been gradually rising, with some fearing that the disease could spread further if immediate action is not taken.
According to reports, a team from the Mombasa County Department of Health is conducting investigations to uncover the exact cause and nature of the disease.
"It is like an outbreak of unknown diseases, when someone dies, the body swells, the skin turns black, and the bodies emit very bad smells. People are panicking right now because you don't know who is next," one resident said.
"When you look at the bodies of those who have died of the disease, their bodies look like they are burned. And some people have gotten sick and are in the hospitals," another resident said.
The development marks the second time this year the county has experienced an outbreak of an unfamiliar disease.
Chikungunya outbreak
Just last month, on June 4, the Mombasa County Government warned residents of the outbreak of the Chikungunya virus, which is spread by special types of mosquitoes, infected female Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes, which attack during the day.
Some symptoms of the disease include severe joint pains, which can last for days, months, or even years, muscle pain, headache, nausea, fatigue, and rash.
The Deputy Manager Emergency Operations Center in Mombasa, Fatma Ali, attributed the sudden outbreak of the disease to the ongoing rains, which provided a conducive environment for the mosquitoes to breed rapidly.
Ali confirmed that the county government was conducting fumigation and spraying of houses across the county. Ali further encouraged residents to ensure that they kept the environment clean in order to destroy breeding sites of the mosquitoes
"It is our responsibility to ensure that our environment is clean by removing stagnant water, and this will reinforce the efforts that the county government is currently undertaking to control the disease," Ali said.
