Insecurity also continues to hamper aid efforts following the kidnapping of Western aid workers from the sprawling Dadaab complex of five camps, where 100 additional Kenyan police have been deployed in the past month, it said.
“There are now 60 cholera cases in the camps, including 10 laboratory-confirmed cases and one refugee death,” Andrej Mahecic, spokesman of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), told a news briefing.
The outbreak is believed to have started among newly arrived refugees from Somalia, where the disease is endemic, who may also have contracted it en route by drinking unsafe water from areas flooded by heavy rains, he said.
Cholera is an acute intestinal infection transmitted in contaminated water that causes watery diarrhoea and severe dehydration and can kill within hours if not treated.
The UNHCR and other aid agencies have set up cholera treatment centres in the camp for severe cases and are promoting safe hygiene practices, Mahecic said. Most cases can be managed by giving oral rehydration solutions.
The UNHCR has already cut back its aid operations to essential services, namely distribution of food, water and health care, while suspending education and other activities.
In all, some 220 Kenyan police are now deployed in Dadaab, which consists of five camps spread across 50 square kilometers, according to the UNHCR spokesman.