Health officials in Kenya are investigating a mysterious illness that broke out at a local school after more than 100 students were hospitalized after not being able to walk.
St. Teresia Eregi Girls School in Kakamega County closed its doors and sent home 1,000 students after dozens of students fell ill.
Viral video shows some of the girls who contracted the illness were paralyzed. Others have difficulty walking saying they are experiencing knee pain, according to Vanguard News.
“The education department, the county government, and the public health department are giving a commitment that the children will be treated,” Jared Obiero, the regional director of education told parents of the school girls.
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Blood samples from the students have been sent to the Kenya Medical Research Institute to determine the cause of the illness.
Mysterious illness breaks out at Eregi Girls School in Kenya as more than 90 students struggle to walk
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Kakamega County Director of Medical Services, Dr. Steven Wandei, told Nation Media Group that if not managed, an infectious disease could wipe out an entire family.
“We need to find out what is ailing our girls and discover its cause before we can allow the remaining students to go back home and mingle with their other siblings. It will be disastrous if we allow the students to go home when the disease is infectious,” he explained.
School officials, however, released students earlier this week provoking some schoolgirls to vandalize government vehicles.
“Some of our vehicles’ window panes were destroyed and we allowed parents who wanted to take their children home to sign in commitment. For students whose parents did not come to the school and those whose parents don’t want their children to leave remained and learning will continue as usual for the remaining three weeks,” Obiera said.
Obiera adds that he suspects some students are faking an illness to avoid taking end-of-year exams.
“Some 20 students showed similar signs to those of their colleagues who have been hospitalized but were treated in the school hospital, counseled, and recovered. If we are not careful, we will find that only a few students are sick and the majority feigning their sickness,” he claimed.
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