Weston Hotel in Nairobi. FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP
A cholera outbreak has been reported at Weston Hotel in Nairobi that is associated with Deputy President William Ruto.
The outbreak was reported as some guests, including doctors, were attending a science conference at the hotel.
The chairman of the conference, Dr George Nyale, confirmed the outbreak, saying there was no cause for alarm.
"We have contingency measures on the ground," he said.
He said tests were being run in the hotel and there were ambulances on standby to take people to the hospital.
Were suffering
A source, who sought anonymity, told Nation.co.ke that at least 47 were admitted to various hospitals in the city after they developed cholera-related symptoms.
The hotel’s management refused to talk to the Nation regarding the matter.
Director of Medical Services Jackson Kioko denied the allegations of the “an outbreak of cholera at Weston”.
He said the victims were suffering from gastroenteritis, a common food related infection that is characterised by vomiting and diarrhoea.
Dr Kioko said the Ministry of Health’s department of Disease Surveillance and the National Public Health Laboratories had to conduct “microbiological and other tests to confirm if it is really cholera”.
Nairobi County Executive for Health Bernard Muia said there was a team from the Ministry of Health at the hotel to contain the issue.
The Weston Hotel forum, called “The Kenya International Scientific Lung Health Conference”, was organised by the Ministry of Health
It began on Tuesday and was scheduled to end on Friday.
Barely audible
The over 500 doctors and scientists had been discussing Kenya’s vulnerability to respiratory diseases since Tuesday.
One of the victims admitted to Nairobi Hospital was barely audible, saying the diarrhoea started Wednesday.
“I thought it was food poisoning, so I took water the whole day knowing it would pass,” he said.
The physician from Kisumu County, west of Nairobi, said he later realised that he could be suffering from cholera from the colour of his loose stool.
The toilets
There was a notice at the entrance of the conference on first floor in the hotel directing anyone experiencing stomach aches to a presidential suite.
The same poster was placed in the toilets, an indicator that the hotel was aware of the crisis.
At the entrance, there were there ambulances from Amref that entered the building.
