The recent upsurge of cervical cancer cases in Kenya, has been linked to the consumption of Ugali and other maize flour products.
Results from the 4-year research stated that the rate of aflatoxin-contaminated food, especially in maize and milk, has been on a rapid increase in Kenya.
According to a study carried out among women at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) in Eldoret, consumption of aflatoxin in food, greatly increases the risk of cervical cancer, the Standard reported.
86 women from 285 attending a cervical cancer screening programme at MTRH in 2015 and 2016, were recruited as case studies.
The women aged 18 to 45 who were living within 30km of Eldoret town, were followed for a period of 4 years.
Alarmingly, 49 of them or 57 per cent of the women tested positive for aflatoxin.
The new study published last Thursday in the journal Open Forum Infectious Diseases (OFID), discovered that women with high aflatoxin concentrations in their blood, were also likely to have cancer-causing Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) strains.
Aflatoxin is known for its role in the development of liver cancer and suppression of human immunity.
In Nairobi County, aflatoxin was detected in all milk and sorghum samples and 95 per cent of the maize.
The research report recommended that regulators adopt zero tolerance of aflatoxin-contaminated food and animal feed in the market, in order to curb the dangerous situation which was getting out of hand.
