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| People wait for food and water in the Warder district in the Somali region of Ethiopia, Jan. 28, 2017. Ethiopia is struggling to counter a new drought in its east that authorities say has left 5.6 million people in need. |
About 127 people were in September infected by acute diarrhea in Ethiopia’s second largest city Dire Dawa, 446 kms east of Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa.
This is according to an Ethiopian official said on Monday.
Muluken Argaw, Dire Dawa city Health Bureau Chief, said the infected people were being treated in the city’s main hospital, while several were discharged after they completed treatment.
Argaw cited lack of proper waste disposal means, poor sanitation condition, and failure to properly cook vegetable foods as reasons behind the diarrhea outbreak.
Several major cities in Ethiopia including Addis Ababa, Mekelle and Bahir Dar have recorded the outbreaks that infected thousands earlier this year.
The outbreaks is said to be caused majorly by unsanitary health practices and Ethiopia’s rainy season which stretches from late June until mid-September.
The Ethiopia Federal Ministry of Health, regional and cities health bureaus have also been combating the diarrhea outbreak by treating unhygienic conditions in factories and agricultural areas.
The ministry is also presently engaged in educational programmes on the cause of the disease and ways to prevent and treat it.
