Seven children from one family hospitalised over food poisoning

Seven children from one family were on Tuesday night admitted to the Bahati Sub-County Hospital in Nakuru County after ingesting a poisonous mushroom meal.

The children are from Kwa Hanji village in waseges, Subukia Sub-County.

They suffered from stomach aches and vomiting immediately after taking the mushrooms.

The eldest of the family, 18-year-old Kevin Waweru said the three mushrooms that almost killed them had been picked by one of his little brothers.

"My brother had picked the mushrooms from within the compound and brought them for my sister to cook. I joined the feast when I came back from school," he said.

Speaking from his hospital bed, Waweru said it was not the first time that the family was picking wild mushrooms for food but yesterday's meal turned poisonous.

He said the poison started taking effect on the younger children before all seven got ill.

Margaret Wanjiru, a Community Health Volunteer (CHV) who helped take the children to the hospital said she found the children lying on the ground outside the house when she was called in by the father.

"We took them to the nearest dispensary for first aid before being ferried to Bahati Sub-County Hospital in an ambulance," she said.

The Hospital Nursing Officer, Lucy Karanu said the incident could have been more tragic if the children had fed on more mushrooms.

"These were the effects of only three mushrooms on seven children, the incident could have been fatal if they had taken more," she said.

She warned the public against eating wild mushrooms because it was difficult to differentiate between the poisonous ones and those that are edible.

"These mushrooms look exactly the same, a simple mistake may cost a life."

She added that although the children were okay and due for discharge, they risked eating the same meal again because of lack of food.

Karanu appealed to well-wishers to donate food rations to the family.

Earlier this year, two children from Kuresoi North were hospitalised after eating a chameleon.

The children had allegedly cooked and fed on the chameleon due to hunger.