TB cases on the rise in Nakuru GK Prison

Prisoners at the Nakuru GK Prison are staring at death following an outbreak of tuberculosis in the facility that is already congested.

According to James Sawe, the head officer in charge of the prison, the number of TB cases has plummeted over the last few days.

Sawe said that the rise in the number of case is attributed to the high number of remandees, adding that the facility handles more than twice the number it is supposed to handle.

Sawe, however, said that clinical officers at the correctional facility were doing all they can to contain the disease which has thrown the facility into a panic mode.

The inmates are being screened for the disease and those found to have been infected being isolated for treatment.

The Nakuru prison has a capacity of 700 prisoners but is currently holding 1,562 inmates, something he says guarantees an active spread of the airborne disease.

Those who tested positive were placed in quarantine at segregation wards within the prison for further observation and prevention of new infections.

The clinical officer in the prison Julia Miring’u said that they have received at least 15 cases of TB since September 2015.