2 Dead 9 Hospitalized as Strange Disease Sends County Into Panic

2 people are reportedly dead with 9 more hospitalized as an unknown disease broke out in Meru county with health officers reportedly struggling to control the potential epidemic.

Reports by the Nation revealed that medics at Muthara Sub-County Hospital suspected that the disease was actually anthrax and that they had sent blood samples to Kemri laboratories Nairobi for further research.

The strange disease is said to be characterised by wounds as well as swellings on the victims' bodies during its infancy stage.

Anthrax is a rare but serious illness caused by a spore-forming bacterium- bacillus anthracis, mainly affecting livestock and wild game. However, humans are known to be capable of contracting the killer disease through direct or indirect contact with sick animals.

The symptoms of anthrax according to medical journals seen by Kenyans.co.ke depend on the type of infection and can take anywhere from 1 day to more than 2 months to appear, with cutaneous anthrax (skin anthrax and most common form of the disease) symptoms reportedly comprising a group of small blisters or bumps that may itch.

In a similar case, between 2014-2017, anthrax outbreaks in Nakuru West sub-county affected 15 of 71 people who had contact with infected cattle, including 7 with gastrointestinal, 6 with cutaneous, and 2 with oropharyngeal forms of the disease.

Similarly, a slaughterhouse in Makongeni area, Thika, was forced to shut down after six people were admitted at Thika level 5 Hospital following an anthrax outbreak suspected to have emanated from the abattoir with all the patients reported to have been meat loaders at the slaughterhouse.

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