Mombasa Governor Abdulswamad Nassir on Tuesday afternoon issued a red alert over the outbreak of rotavirus in the county.
Rotavirus is a contagious virus that causes diarrhoea mostly in children under the age of five.
Speaking to journalists in his office, Nassir said the county has confirmed three cases out of 75 currently being investigated at the Coast General Teaching and Referral Hospital.
The governor said Mombasa is experiencing an outbreak of extreme diarrhoea and vomiting among infants.
However, he ruled out the possibility of a cholera outbreak.
“From March 28, to as late as yesterday, April 10, there has been a spike in the number of babies aged between one month and one year reporting to health facilities in a state of shock with a history of severe watery diarrhoea, vomiting and high fevers,” Nassir said.
"Our health teams are working round the clock to confirm the causative organism."
The cases are said to have originated from a daycare centre in Mshomoroni, Kisauni, where most cases have been reported.
Nassir announced that the county through the department of public health will immediately embark on a vaccination exercise targeting children below 18 months.
“We are also going to hire 54 new medical personnel-medical officers, nurses, pharmacists and lab technicians-to curb the spread of the virus,” he said.
“We are also issuing warnings to all food eateries, vendors, daycare centres and ECDs in the county to ensure proper hygiene standards are maintained at all times.”
Rotavirus infection usually starts within two days of exposure, with symptoms including fever and vomiting followed by three to seven days of watery diarrhoea. The infection is said to cause abdominal pain.
Nassir added that the county will deploy community health volunteers (CHVs) who will be on a monthly stipend from the county to help deal with the virus.
“I want to urge parents to allow our CHVs to administer the vaccines to their children. Avoid any home medication once you observe that your child is experiencing the virus symptoms, take them to the hospital to avoid putting their lives at risk,” he added.
The governor directed the departments of public health and water to ensure all boreholes within the county are chlorinated to avoid the further spread of infections.
“I also hereby direct the county executive in charge of infrastructure to deal with illegal connections of sewers. I have also directed the county attorney to ensure we have no mercy with whomever we shall find contravening the directive,” he said.