Following a wave of an illness with symptoms like cholera, Mukuuni Boys’ High School in Chuka Sub-County, Tharaka Nithi County, has been closed.
Before the school was closed yesterday, more than 40 learners had been taken to the Chuka County Referral Hospital and Chuka Nursing Home with stomachaches, diarrhea, and vomiting, according to Tharaka Nithi County Director of Education Bridget Wambua.
She stated that three of them were admitted to the Chuka Nursing Home in Chuka town.
She added that students began reporting loose tummies and vomiting last week, and the number of complaints kept rising.
Public health officials reportedly visited the school and collected water and food samples for analysis, but results have not yet been released, according to Ms. Wambua.
However, she added that the school administration believes the illness may be brought on by contaminated water as a result of regular pipe breaks caused by road construction.
Yet, learners who spoke to the media claimed that after feasting down on a school cow that the administration had slaughtered, they began to experience gastrointestinal issues.
The principal of the school, however, refuted the allegations and informed Ms. Wambua that the meat had really been purchased from a third party.
The fact that no teachers or support personnel have been impacted, according to the school principal, just adds to the mystery.
There have been no reports of similar gastrointestinal issues among several other nearby schools and villages who also drink the water.
The 950 learners who attend the extra-county school will return on May 9th, following the break, according to Ms. Wambua.
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