Mandera County government has sent five human blood samples to the Kenya Medical Research Institute (Kemri) for testing of a range of diseases.
The director of county public health services Abukar Abdi Sheikh cited Rift Valley Fever (RVF), dengue fever and yellow fever among others as the diseases to be tested from the samples send to the agency.
HIGH ALERT
“We are on alert due to high risk of suffering from a range of haemorrhage diseases which are already being reported in the neighbouring county,” said Mr Sheikh.
According to Mr Sheikh, the blood samples sent to Kemri last week were taken from patients who complaint of joint pains, had fever and showed signs of bleeding.
Results from the research agency based in Nairobi are expected back on Friday.
Mr Sheikh said public education has since been rolled out to inform locals on signs and dangers of the deadly RVF ravaging Wajir County.
Some parts of Mandera West, Kotulo and Elwak are at risk of contracting RVF from Wajir due to livestock migration in search of pasture and water.
The public health officer said the porous border with Somalia and Ethiopia is putting Mandera at more risk than the neighbouring counties.
At least six people have died from RVF in Wajir since May when the disease was first reported.
RVF is a mosquito-borne viral zoonosis, which periodically causes disease outbreaks in humans and livestock and is known to have been endemic in sub-Saharan Africa since 1912.
Patients usually experience fever, generalised weakness, back pain, and dizziness at the onset of the illness and weight loss.
In animals, sheep and cattle may have nasal discharge, excess salivation, and loss of appetite, weakness, or diarrhoea.