Kenyan Rains Raise Risk of Large-Scale Disease Outbreak, UN Says

(Bloomberg) -- Heavy rains and flooding in Kenya compounded a cholera outbreak and a chikungunya epidemic and increased the risk of large-scale spread of the diseases, the United Nations said.

At least 80 people have died in flooding in the East African nation since the beginning of the year, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in an emailed statement Thursday. A further 244,400 have been forced to flee their homes, it said.

A cholera outbreak in 15 of Kenya's 47 counties has left at least 55 people dead, the agency said. The flooding also heightened the risk of disease including malaria, chikungunya and dengue fever, it said.

Kenya's weather service has forecast above-average rains in western and central Kenya this month, with remaining areas set to receive near-average rainfall.

To contact the reporter on this story: Paul Richardson in Nairobi at pmrichardson@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Paul Richardson at pmrichardson@bloomberg.net, Michael Gunn, Karl Maier

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