After reportedly eating tainted beef, 68 students in form four from St. Thomas Aquinas Igumori Secondary School (located in Mbeere South, Embu) have been admitted to hospital.
The students were hurried to Kiritiri Level 4 Hospital for treatment. Nevertheless, three students transferred to Embu Level 5 hospital for specialized treatment.
The school principal stated that the students consumed the meat from a bull that was killed on February 5, Wednesday.
The bull was killed as part of the celebration for the good results in last month’s Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE).
The principal informed the media that two teachers and Form Four students indulged in the head of the animal and became unwell. Reports say they ate the meat on Thursday.
While medical teams are working to stabilise the affected students, authorities are investigating the source of the contamination.
In April 2023, a serious health crisis struck Sacred Heart Mukumu Girls High School in Kakamega County, as more than 100 students were hospitalized with symptoms such as fever and diarrhea.
Further inquiries conducted by the Ministry of Health uncovered that the diseases stemmed from contaminated food and water, with lab analyses pinpointing bacterial infections like Salmonella typhi and amebiasis. Sadly, the outbreak led to two students losing their lives.
Butere Boys High School, located in Kakamega County as well, was closed indefinitely shortly thereafter due to a suspected food poisoning incident. Roughly 100 students showed symptoms akin to cholera, such as vomiting and diarrhea.
The administration of the school quickly sent the impacted students home and began discussions with public health authorities to identify the source of the outbreak. In order to protect the students’ health while waiting for a detailed report from health authorities, the closure was considered necessary.
In July 2023, a comparable event occurred at Ikonge Girls High School in Nyamira County, where 138 students were hospitalized due to complaints of severe vomiting and diarrhoea. The symptoms were thought to result from the consumption of contaminated food or water.
