A seven-year-old boy died on Saturday, January 7, in Nakuru after drinking soup prepared from the carcass of a sick cow.
40 other villagers who ate the meat in Tirgoi village, Kuresoi south sub-county, fell ill and were rushed to the Olenguruone Sub-County Hospital. Most of them complained of shortness of breath, diarrhoea, vomiting, and abdominal pain.
Joshua Langat, a village elder, confirmed the seven-year-old's death and the admission of other victims.
"He drank soup from the meat, was brought here for treatment but has unfortunately succumbed," he communicated.
Langat further revealed that out of those admitted, the oldest patient was a 64-year-old while the youngest was a two-month-old baby.
According to preliminary reports, it is suspected that the dead cow was infected with East Coast Fever.
One of the victims of the infected meat told the press that the cow's owner had slaughtered it and warned that the meat was not to be consumed.
"The cow's owner had travelled but, before his leaving, had ordered the slaughtered cow's meat not to be consumed.
"Drunkards then came over, split the meat, and distributed the pieces in their drinking dens in the village," he remarked.
Another victim who partook in cutting the meat revealed that the cow had been injected at least five times by a veterinary officer.
Nakuru County Deputy Governor David Kones, who visited the patients at the hospital, urged residents to desist from eating meat that health officials had not inspected.
"There is an outbreak of rabies and anthrax and these are deadly diseases. Please do not consume meat that has not been inspected by health officials," he urged.
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