six people have drowned in floods as heavy rain continues to pound the country.

Three refugees drowned at Ifo Refugee Camp while three children are missing from their homes.

Three other people were swept away by rivers in Kirinyaga and Embu districts as seasonal rivers burst their banks.

Two primary school children were swept away in Mwea and Embu as they were crossing seasonal rivers.

UNHCR spokesman, Mr Emmanuel Nyabera, said the health and sanitation situation in the refugee camps is worrying following a reported outbreak of disease at Ifo.

Nyabera was concerned that latrines in the camps have been flooded, contaminating water and posing a serious health risk.

Already, he said, an outbreak of fever, diarrhoea, eye and skin infections has been reported.

Nyabera said UN Children’s Fund and other agencies are bringing in vaccines and other supplies to combat the spread of disease.

"In Ifo, the biggest camp hosting some 54,000 refugees, a hospital was almost completely flooded on Sunday and the patients were transferred to the only ward which was not affected," Nyabera said in a statement.

In the Embu incident, seven-year-old, Ebenezer Mutungi, was carried away by the raging waters of Kianjokoma stream as he was heading to Kiangima Primary School.

The class two pupil drowned despite efforts by his 12-year-old brother to rescue him.

In Mwea, a nursery school girl, drowned as she was crossing a seasonal river at Ciagini. Jane Nyambura, was carried off by the stream after heavy rains pounded the area.

In the same area, Mr James Kamande, 45 he drowned in a rice canal as he was going home on Monday.