MSAMBWENI, 26 March 2010 (IRIN) - Up to 11,000 students from various schools in Msambweni and Kwale districts on Kenya's coast have been forced to go home before the Easter holidays after an outbreak of cholera in the region.

Bridgide Wambua, the Msambweni District Education Officer, told IRIN the department decided to close down the schools to prevent more students from contracting cholera and other waterborne ailments that had also been reported.

"It is unfortunate, however, that one of the students from Vingunjini primary school recently succumbed to the disease," she said, adding that nevertheless all others who were admitted to health facilities were responding well to treatment.

The latest closures were of Jomo Kenyatta and Karama primary schools, bringing the total to 18.

The number of people infected in the two districts has reached 250, according to Kevin Kinyua, Msambweni's District Medical Officer.

"The patients, who include students, are being treated at Msambweni District hospital while others have been admitted to various dispensaries, including Vistangalaweni, Shimoni, Mwenza Mwenye and Chiranze.

"The spread of the disease both in the institutions and the general public at large is attributed to poor sanitation and the lack of clean drinking water," Kinyua said.

"The affected students could have taken contaminated water from boreholes in their institutions or water pans back at home. Many locals have been admitted with the same ailment.

"However, the government, in conjunction with NGOs, has embarked on distributing clean drinking water and medication to the local residents, as well as chlorinating all sources of water in the area," he said.

"We are urging the government to address the issue urgently since it is jeopardizing our learning as we plan to sit for our end of term and mock examinations," Michael Mwadzaro of Mwamzadi secondary school told IRIN.

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