NAIROBI, Nov 22, 2009 (AFP) - A cholera outbreak has killed eight inmates in Kenya's largest prison outside the capital Nairobi and hospitalised 25 others, the commissioner of prisons said Sunday.
"One died on Saturday night while the seven others died early this morning. There is a cholera outbreak at the prison," Isaiah Osugo told AFP.
Twenty-five others have been hospitalised due to the illness caused by poor sanitation and contaminated drinking water at the Kamiti prison, he said.
Cholera is a water-borne disease that can also be transmitted by food that has been in contact with sewage.
It causes serious diarrhoea and vomiting leading to dehydration. With a short incubation period, it can be fatal if not treated in time.
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Received by NewsEdge Insight: 11/22/2009 02:08:13
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