Following a suspected outbreak of Malaria, Twenty Eight(28) students from Sacred Heart Mukumu Girls in Kakamega County have been hospitalized.
The students had been sick for three days and were having fever and diarrhoea .
Nine students admitted to the nearby St Elizabeth Mukumu Mission Hospital tested positive for malaria and were undergoing treatment, according to preliminary findings.
After complaining of identical symptoms, four girls were admitted to a private hospital in Khayega and 15 were rushed to the St Elizabeth hospital.
On Tuesday, county health director Dr. William Olaka and health officers paid a visit to the school.
Dr. Olaka said samples were taken for testing to determine whether the sickness had spread to the school, which is near the Khayega market.
“Our preliminary investigations point to a malaria outbreak. We are still carrying out further investigations to establish what the other students could be suffering from,” Dr Olaka said.
The authorities are also investigating the possibility that the students were sickened by food poisoning or contaminated water.
He said there was no cause for alarm as the students were receiving treatment and were in a stable condition.
The students were reported to be sleeping without using mosquito nets in their dormitories.
A parent noted that he had learnt about the outbreak when he went to visit his daughter last Saturday.
“I was informed that several students had been admitted at the nearby hospital but what shocked me is that the school administration has not communicated to parents about the incident,” said the parent.
Health executive Dr Collins Matemba said a full report on the outbreak of the disease would be released after the public health team co
