On Monday, 174 students from Kisii’s Amabuko Secondary School were transported to the hospital with an unknown disease, which some reports feared was food poisoning.
According to a person acquainted with the situation, the first case was reported in the early hours of Monday, raising concerns about the quality of food given at the institutions.
After complaining of severe gastrointestinal aches and diarrhoea, the students were transported to Keroka Sub-County Hospital, Ichuni Mission Hospital, and Gucha Hospital.
The local Rigoma Ward MCA Nyambega Gisesa observed in a statement that the response time was rapid, despite the fact that the instance comes just weeks after a similar one in Vihiga.
“Following a suspected case of usage of contaminated water and food poisoning at Amabuko Secondary School, our medics at Keroka Hospital are offering services to the affected students. There are adequate medical supplies and our well-trained personnel are handling the emergency,” he stated.
Area residents who rushed to the institution to help with the evacuation believed that the poisoning was caused by a meal of beans and vegetables the students indulged in on Sunday night.
Experts have raised concerns over the quality of living in boarding schools as populations grow while investments in expanding infrastructure such as classes and dormitories remain low.
Most schools are currently facing sanitation challenges with some struggling to meet water needs among other challenges.
The quality of food has also been questioned as the rising cost of living puts more pressure on school administrations amid a cash crunch.
At the beginning of October, St. Theresa’s Eregi Girls High School sent home its students after an outbreak of an unknown disease broke out at the institution.
Blood samples from the 95 affected students were sent to the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) in Nairobi and Kisumu counties for further analysis.
The school’s administration first noted that there was a disease outbreak after 95 students started experiencing difficulty in walking.
Earlier in the year, Mukumu Girls was shut down after a severe case of diarrhoea broke out at the institution and claimed four lives, three students and a teacher. 124 students were hospitalised at Kakamega Referral Hospital while the school was temporarily shut down.
In response, Education CS Ezekiel Machogu mandated all institutions to have a safety sub-committee aimed at ensuring that students observe sanitation at all times.
