The County Government of Embu has appealed to locals to maintain environmental and personal hygiene to curb the spread of communicable diseases such as cholera, typhoid and malaria.
County Secretary Amy Ruria said cleanliness remains the main defence against these communicable diseases.
She noted that proper sanitation plays a major role in preventing transmission of harmful pathogens by denying them breeding grounds.
Speaking on Saturday during a clean-up exercise of Embu Town and its environs organised by Kenya Tenri Society, Ms Ruria noted that 85 per cent of communicable diseases in developing countries are linked to poor hygiene, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
“Some of these communicable diseases can be prevented through simple hygiene practices such as environmental sanitation, personal hygiene, safe food handling and drinking safe water,” she noted.
She asked residents to take sanitation seriously amid heightened alert following the Ebola outbreak in the DRC and Uganda, noting that poor sanitation and personal hygiene contribute to Ebola transmission in humans.
Tenri Group of Hospitals Director Dr Jim Njamiu said the event, dubbed Hinokishin Day, was an annual event marked by followers of Tenrikyo Mission in Japan and in the country to clean up public areas to express gratitude for good health.
He said they have been carrying out the exercise for the last 26 years with the clarion call to communities that environmental cleanliness was a shared responsibility.
By Samuel Waititu
