"We must work to ensure the disease does not spread any further than it has," provincial medical chief Omar Ahmed said.

The disease -- whose symptoms are fever, abdominal pain and vomiting of blood -- is usually associated with mosquito-borne epidemics during years of unusually heavy rainfall or flooding, as has been the case recently in northern Kenya.

It is transmitted through livestock infected by drinking contaminated water, experts said.

Officials said the government had banned the slaughter of animals in the region, where thousands were due to be slaughtered for the Muslim festival due in Kenya on Saturday.

The deaths bring to at least 139 the total number of people killed by floods and related ailments since unusually heavy rains began pounding the country in October, bringing extra misery to hundreds of thousands who had been affected by a drought.

Across Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia, all of which have been hit by torrential rains expected to continue into January, at least 342 people have died.

Earlier this month, the International Red Cross said it was seeking 21.9 million dollars (16.5 million euros) for flood relief efforts in Kenya, where some 700,000 people have been affected.

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