Suspected kala-azar cases hospitalised in northeast

More than 30 children have been admitted to hospital in the northeastern Kenyan town of Wajir with symptoms of kala-azar, a deadly parasitic disease characterised by anemia and the inflammation of the liver and spleen, health officials said. Almost all the cases in the Wajir District Hospital had come from Merti administrative division of the neighbouring Isiolo district, according to Ahmeddin Omar, the doctor in charge of the hospital. "We have received 22 patients this [Thursday] morning in addition to the 10 last week," said Omar, adding that those affected were mainly children between the ages of one and 13. Most were younger than five, he added. Omar said the hospital was using a drug known as Pentostam, which he described as the "first-line" kala-azar treatment. "We are expecting more patients and we require support in terms of drugs," he added. More supplies of the drug were on the way to Wajir from Isiolo and Garissa, the administrative headquarters of the northeastern province. "We are not even sure the hospital will be able to cope if patients continue coming," he added. No deaths had so far been reported in Wajir District Hospital, according to Omar. Medical teams had been sent to the affected villages in Isiolo to investigate the outbreak, he added. Kala-azar, known as visceral leishmaniasis, is caused by parasitic protozoa transmitted to humans by the bite of infected female sandfly, according to the United Nations World Health Organization. The disease lowers the immune system, causes persistent fever, anemia, liver and spleen enlargement, and is fatal if untreated. jn/mw/eo