Health Cabinet Secretary Susan Nakhumicha has confirmed that the deaths of the four students at Mukumu Girls High School was caused by consumption of contaminated food.
Nakhumicha said the bacteria that caused the students complications were borne in human faeces.
The findings were as a result of a multi-agency investigations that that started at the institution in March after a case was reported.
"So far what we have been able to isolate is the microorganisms the Coli and Salmonella typhi. Those are common microorganisms that present themselves in human faecal discharge," she said.
The Ministry of Health had dispatched an investigation team on April 1 to support the Kakamega County team.
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The team would then be backed by a high-level visit of multi-agency team led by the CS Nakhumicha, Principal Secretary for the State Department of Basic Education, the Governor of Kakamega County, Western Regional Commissioner and the County Health, Education and Security teams.
Among the symptoms of the disease are fever, abdominal pain/cramps, vomiting and diarrhea.
As per the investigations, the disease that has so far killed four students seems to have started in early March.
The team established that on April 14, about 627 patients were taken ill.
The Ministry of Education and Kakamega County Government sanctioned indefinite closure of the school following the outbreak.
The Nakhumich-led docket took several water, food and human tissue samples, from which preliminary laboratory investigations undertaken revealed Enterotoxigenic E. coli and Salmonella typhi as the causes of the illness.
Further laboratory investigations carried out on the grains and pulses for aflatoxin turned negative for aflatoxicosis, a fungal infection that thrive in poorly stored cereals.
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