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Mailu says guests at Weston had food poisoning, not cholera

“The signs and symptoms do not meet classical case definition for cholera, “he said/FILE

NAIROBI, Kenya, Jun 23 – Health Cabinet Secretary Cleopa Mailu has refuted claims of a cholera outbreak at the Weston Hotel in Nairobi, instead saying tests indicated that the guests suffered from food poisoning.

Speaking to Capital FM News, Mailu said 35 tests had so far been carried out and almost all turning out negative for the deadly bacterial pathogen.

“The signs and symptoms do not meet the classical case definition of cholera,” he said.

Mailu said the ministry’s Department of Disease Surveillance and the National Public Health Laboratories will conduct more tests to confirm the cholera assumption.

Fifteen doctors have been admitted to various hospitals while displaying cholera-like symptoms.

The search for the source of infection has also been intensified from both patients and the hotel.

“We are looking at those cases, treating retrospectively going backwards to see where it came from.”

Over 500 delegates had converged at the local hotel for a Lung Health Conference.

Last month, the Nairobi County Government issued a cholera alert after five people with symptoms were admitted at after contracting the disease at a wedding in Karen.

The county government has since reactivated six surveillance centers and revealed that symptoms to look out for include diarrhoea, vomiting and lack of appetite.

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