By NewsDesk @bactiman63
Some 200 kids in Boni forest, Garissa County, Kenya have been stricken by an outbreak of schistosomiasis, aka bilharzia and diarrhea due to drinking contaminated water, according to a report in The Star.
The affected children are from Kiangwe, Mangai, Milimani and Basuba villages inside the dense Boni forest.
Boni residents have been left to drink untreated dirty water after their water sources dried due to a ravaging drought.
“Currently, there are at least 200 children suffering from bilharzia and diarrhoea. The situation is worse because there are no health facilities here”, Boni MCA Barissa Deko said.
Blood flukes in Black and White
Schistosomiasis is an acute and chronic disease caused by trematode parasites, which health authorities say more than 200 million people are infected worldwide and in terms of impact, this disease is second only to malaria as the most devastating parasitic disease.
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