A scabies outbreak that affected over 100 inmates and remandees at the Naivasha Medium Prison has exposed sanitation and hygienic conditions inside the country’s correctional institutions despite health authorities saying the threat had been contained.

Nakuru County Director of Medical Services Daniel Wainaina confirmed the outbreak but said a multi-agency team from Naivasha had visited the facility, taken part in fumigation and treated inmates suffering from the skin disease.

“We received a report of scabies affecting some inmates and our team responded promptly, and this has been contained through the necessary medical practices,” he said.

Dr Wainaina noted that containing the outbreak, which manifests as an itchy condition, had been easier because all the affected inmates were confined to one area.

Health officials said increased congestion was to blame for the outbreak, which was first reported in early July among inmates, before later spreading to other suspects.

According to public health officers, scabies spreads rapidly through direct skin-to-skin contact, with congested settings such as prisons providing conditions for faster transmission, due to prolonged close contact among inmates.

The outbreak comes at a time when the Prison Department has decried low funding, which has adversely affected its services, including transport and warders’ welfare.

According to a source, the facility was highly congested, hosting over double its capacity, a situation that worsened the outbreak.

The officer noted that inmates had been forced to share bedding due to the inadequate funding crisis facing the institution, causing the skin disease to spread faster.

“We had an outbreak of skin disease in the medium prison, and the problem had been worsened by congestion and lack of funding for fumigation materials,” said the source.

The National Assembly Constitutional Implementation Oversight Committee (CIOC) has flagged the congestion crisis in the country’s penal institutions as a major concern due to inadequate funding as the population of inmates increased.

In a visit to the institution a few weeks ago, the committee noted that the situation had been worsened by financial challenges facing the prisons department against the rising number of inmates.

According to committee member Benjamin Mejjadonk, the government’s relevant authorities should move with speed to address the years-long budget cuts, which had affected tens of prisons in the country.

“Senior officers at this facility note that there are major budgetary cuts, and this has affected operations in nearly all prisons across the country,” the Embakasi Central MP said.

• A Tell Media / KNA report / By Erastus Gichohi