20 Nyahururu GK Prison inmates diagnosed with TB

At least 20 inmates at the Nyahururu GK Prison have been diagnosed with Tuberculosis (TB), the Laikipia County health service department has said.

The cases were discovered following a week-long screening exercise at the correction facility conducted by health officials from the county.

According to the County TB program coordinator Muriithi Wanjiku, at least 700 inmates have been screened and over 200 samples picked for further scrutiny.

The exercise was conducted in collaboration with health officials from Nyahururu County Referral Hospital, who reported that congestion at the prison was a major contributor to the disease spread at the facility.

The health officials have since recommended for the construction of an isolation ward where patients can be placed to avoid further spread.

Laikipia Governor Joshua Irungu noted that his administration has taken up the matter with the seriousness it deserves, adding that the isolation ward is on his priority list.

Health officials challenged residents to go for regular screening and check up in order to know whether they have the bacterial disease which is commonly spread through air from one infected person to another.

They said that TB screening is an effective method of identifying people who may not otherwise seek treatment due to misinformation or misunderstanding of their symptoms.

TB usually affects the lungs, but can also affect other parts of the body, such as the brain, the kidneys, or the spine.

In most cases, TB is treatable and curable; however, people with TB can die if they do not get proper treatment.

Sometimes drug-resistant TB occurs when bacteria become resistant to the drugs used to treat TB. This means that the drug can no longer kill the TB bacteria.