Health officials have allayed the fear of a cholera outbreak at Upper Hill School.
Nairobi county director of public health Dr Carol Ngunu on Tuesday however confirmed that 11 students were admitted to the hospital suffering from amoebiasis.
The students are in treatment and in stable condition.
Amebiasis, or amoebic dysentery, is an infection caused by a parasite that your body sheds through stool.
When the parasite gets into your intestine, it can cause symptoms like cramping and diarrhoea and is treated with antibiotics.
The official said reports received on Sunday indicated the students were having diarrhoea and vomiting, prompting the county to send a team of health officials to investigate the matter.
“Currently 11 students are admitted but they are stable and we expect they will be discharged by tomorrow,” she said.
Ngunu said even though the tests show the students are suffering from amoebiasis, water and food samples have been taken from the school for further tests and analysis to find out if there is any other possible cause of the outbreak.
“We have communicated with the principal of the school and the children have been treated when we did the analysis we found it was amoebiasis but we are continuing with further tests to see if there is another reason why they are sick,” she said.
She has called on Nairobians to observe high levels of hygiene, which include washing hands after visiting the toilet, eating well-cooked food and taking clean treated water.
