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Medical experts have raised alarm over rising cases of boys born with undescended testis in Laikipia and Nyandarua counties.
Most suffer from cryptorchidism, a condition in which a testicle has not moved into its proper position in the scrotum.
Nyahururu County Hospital has reported 24 cases in the last one month.
Dr Muigai Mararo, a consultant urologist, said a child with undescended testis is usually as a result of premature birth but there were other unknown reasons and “our doctors are on the ground doing research and we will soon find out what has caused this rise. That is why we pursuing other causes since it is not normal for such a rise in one month.”
Dr Mararo said undescended testis posed a risk of one developing cancer of the testis besides trauma.
Experts say it could also lead to infertility. Such a child should be treated before the age of two.
Speaking during a three-day urological camp in Nyahuru, Dr Mararo asked mothers to always palpate the testis area to establish its exact position whenever they are bathing their sons as “since this is a dangerous disease that can cause cancer.”
Dr Kitovu Mburugu, chair of the Kenya Association of Urological Surgeons, said the camp was offering free surgical service to patients of prostate enlargement, prostate cancer, blockage of the urinary system, undescended testis among other urinary system ailments.
More than 30 patients benefited from the camp at the Nyahururu County Hospital from a target of 180 patients.
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