14-Yr old Dies, Four Hospitalized After Eating Bananas

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A child smiling while eating a banana.
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A 14 year old girl died after sharing a meal of bananas with four other children in Shinyalu Constituency, Kakamega County.

The children's grandmother, who had fed the five children, told the police that the bananas had properly matured.

"I checked that the bananas were ripe then gave the children to eat with a cup of tea. When one of the children started vomiting, I took her to the hospital. The girl was admitted to the hospital but she died on the second day," narrated the woman.

A casket being lowered into the ground
An undated photo of a casket being lowered into the ground.
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The four, three of whom are siblings, were hospitalized after they showed symptoms of stomach upsets and vomiting shortly after eating the cooked bananas.

The children were taken to different hospitals where it was established that the bananas had been poisoned.

"After I left the mortuary where I'd taken one of the children, I came back home to find the others sick with the same symptoms," narrated another neighbor.

In a past incident, at least 36 people were hospitalised in Mt Elgon, Bungoma County, after consuming contaminated milk.

The 36 were alleged to have taken fermented milk, locally known as Mursik, a day before they started showing symptoms of poisoning.

Kenya addressed another case of possible poisoning when the Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA) recommended the immediate ban of maize imported from Tanzania and Uganda. 

"The authority has been conducting surveillance on the safety of food imports into Kenya. The results from maize imported from Uganda and Tanzania have revealed high levels of mycotoxins that are consistently beyond safety limits," AFA acting Director-General Kelli Harsama said.

A sample of maize with aflatoxins
A sample of maize with aflatoxins
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