Aston Lukoye
Mukumu Girls High School in Kakamega County was on Monday, April 3 closed indefinitely following the deaths of two students in a case of suspected food and water poisoning.
The initial number of students hospitalized with diarrhea, vomiting, and dizziness was 124 but the number almost doubled, with some of them also complaining of fatigue and breathlessness.
The two students died with the majority discharged from the Kakamega County General Teaching & Referral Hospital and St Elizabeth Mukumu Mission Hospital, with only 25 still admitted.
Their samples were collected and sent to the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) for analysis to arrive at the cause of the outbreak.
School principal speaks
In an April 2 notice to parents, school principal Fridah Ndolo said the two students who died were in Form One W and Form Two C.
“Let’s pray for our students and the Mukumu community. If we take a child home for treatment let us take her to the hospital and monitor her. We have lost two students. God, give us grace and wisdom to go through this trying moment. May the departed souls find eternal peace.”
Autopsy results
According to autopsy results conducted on Monday, April 3 Wendu Abetti Oyugi, a form one student at Sacred Heart Mukumu Girls High School succumbed to gastritis. Pathologist, Titus Ngulungu, had indicated that the minor’s stomach had bled due to inflammation and alleged that the student may have ingested a toxic product.
“After examination of the body, l have formed the opinion that the deceased died because of gastritis. However, l have collected more samples for toxicology tests at the government chemist to ascertain what caused the stomach inflammation.
Wendu’s mother confirmed the pathologist’s report and urged the school administration and the government to further look into the case.
“Other tests are being taken to Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) for further examination,” Wendu’s mother emotionally stated.
What is Gastritis, Signs & Symptoms
Gastritis is a general term for a group of conditions with one thing in common: Inflammation of the lining of the stomach. According to Mayo Clinic, the inflammation of gastritis is most often the result of infection with the same bacterium that causes most stomach ulcers or the regular use of certain pain relievers.
Gastritis may occur suddenly (acute gastritis) or appear slowly over time (chronic gastritis), but in some cases, gastritis can lead to ulcers and an increased risk of stomach cancer. For most people, however, gastritis isn’t serious and improves quickly with treatment.
What Boni Khalwale said
On Monday, former Ikolomani Member of Parliament Boni Khalwale told the media that the school, which gets its water from the Lake Victoria North company, was supplementing the supply by pumping water from a nearby spring, whose water was said to be contaminated.
According to the former Ikolomani Member of Parliament, students from the school also fetch water in unsanitary containers from a borehole outside the school, further worsening the situation.
At the same time, a committee investigating the incident discovered that the cereals consumed at the school are supplied by a syndicate within the administration. The cereals are also said to have been preserved using a poisonous preservative that was further putting the students at risk.
“Because of a desire to make sure their cereals are consumed, they use an unscrupulous chemical called Nova to preserve the cereal,” Khalwale said.
The senator added that the symptoms exhibited by the students who are still in the hospital are consistent with the side effects of the preservative the school store has been using.
“This information was not given to doctors at the hospital, so doctors have been fumbling and investigating COVID, HIV, and so on and so forth instead of treating food poisoning,” Khalwale added.
The incident led to a section of politicians demanding urgent measures to be taken to curb the increase in cases.
“It is sad that more than 200 girls are affected. This calls for the attention of all leaders in the county. I propose that the principal is assisted by the Ministry of Education in closing the school because the lives of students are in danger,” Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale stated during a tour of the school on Friday, March 31.
