Chebo Chepkatuw writhes in pain as her twins cry to be breastfed, blissfully unaware of the agony their mother is undergoing.
But the ailing Chepkatuw can only look at the weeping children helplessly.
The middle-aged mother is among hundreds of patients from Kolowa ward in Tiaty, suffering from an unknown disease that has claimed the lives of eight people in the past two weeks. One of the twins is also sick.
During a visit by The Standard, we found four wards at AIC Lodengo Health Centre full of patients, each hooked to a bag of intravenous fluids.
Dozens more were sleeping out in the open and under a tree, as nurses tried to save their lives.
The nurse in-charge, Clara Lotuw, said they were receiving between 10 to 15 patients daily, with most visiting the facility late in the evening.
She confirmed that eight people had died while undergoing treatment at the facility, and there were fears the number could rise.
Abdominal pains
“The people you see here came in the morning and we had to admit them. Those admitted complain of abdominal pains, diarrhea and vomiting. They are also restless,” said Lotuw.
According to the nurse, the disease kills in less than two hours, but responds to broad-spectrum antibiotics if detected early.
Lotuw said the disease was transmissible because if one family member visited the health centre, relatives who had been in contact with the patient would fall sick a few days later.
The nurse said residents rely on rain water collected in water pans for daily use, adding that the untreated water was a health risk because locals practiced open defecation. “We have tried to educate them to boil water but they have failed to heed our advice. They further declined to use chemicals we gave them," she said.
She said the outbreak may be caused by bacteria in the water used to prepare busaa, a locally brewed drink. Lotuw said there was urgent need to address the health scare. “Dispensaries should be equipped with drugs for easier management of this hygiene-related condition.”
Kelvin Kiplagat, a lab technologist, said they were yet to identify the disease.
Not cholera
“From my investigation, I ruled out cholera. We have referred some specimen to Baringo County Hospital and are yet to get the results.”
Tilingwa, Chepelion, Nalukumongin, Kipnai and Loiwat villages are the worst affected.
Philip Nyangolei, a resident, criticised what he called lack of qualified medics in the villages. “These areas have dispensaries but we have no nurses. We need nurses to administer drugs on the hospital shelves."
He said nurses posted to dispensaries in Tilingwa, Loiwat and Kipnai would report to work but not stay for long. “We had nurses here but they left. They abandoned the hospitals to untrained personnel who cannot administer drugs.”
Mr Nyangolei claimed many villagers had died and lauded the nurses at Lodengo for working tirelessly to save lives. He said poor roads made the situation worse because there were no vehicles to ferry the sick to the health centres.
Lomuke assistant chief Esther Kwamabus said health workers needed to educate villagers on the importance of digging pit latrines and treating drinking water.
County Health minister Mary Panga said they were studying the collected amples and would soon release the results.