Last week's case of cholera reported after a wedding in Karen has turned the spotlight on food caterers.
According to sources, a man died and several other members of his family, including a toddler and the man's elder brother, were admitted to different medical facilities around Nairobi, where they are receiving treatment for cholera.
A directive has banned off-site food handling, which was blamed for the last cholera outbreak that caused several deaths around the country. Nairobi County Health Executive Bernard Muia has accused caterers of not taking the ban seriously.
"We are investigating the food handlers because they seem not to take the directive seriously," he said.
He said the directive by the Ministry of Health to ensure that all outside caterers comply with the new set of regulations still stands.
"We have even met with the caterers' association and told them that our aim is not to shut them down, but rather to ensure that they are medically examined and also to make sure they notify us beforehand so that we are on the lookout," he said.
The Government had ordered the testing of about half a million people in the food handling business and there is no information whether they all complied. Health Cabinet Secretary Cleopa Mailu said local authorities in Nairobi would also be required to repair all broken sewer lines, ensure all water vendors and their water sources were certified, and ban hawking of food.
Efforts to reach the caterers' association failed as the phones of its officials went unanswered.
In mid-May, four people died and five others were admitted to hospital after eating at a wedding held in Karen.
A month later, the high-end Weston hotel was hit by cholera after private hospitals confirmed that 11 people had been rushed to hospitals after eating lunch at the hotel.
Barely a month later, the Cabinet secretary in charge of the Treasury, Henry Rotich, CS Adan Mohammed, and several other people with cholera-like symptoms were treated at a Nairobi hospital after a eating at a function at KICC.
They were suspected to have been infected with the cholera bacteria after they ate food served by outside caterers. Some 50 people who attended the function were admitted to hospital.
Jacaranda Hotel, which has since been reopened, was closed after four of its employees were admitted to hospital with cholera. Mailu also shut down San Valencia, which provided the catering services at KICC. It has since reopened after complying with the new standards.
nkabale@stnadrdamedia.co.ke