Wild fruits ingested by pupils sent to Kemri for analysis

51 pupils were taken ill on Tuesday afternoon after eating wild fruits picked from a tree within the school compound in Athi River. [File, Standard]

Samples of the wild fruits ingested by 51 pupils of Kanaani Integrated Primary School in Athi River, and which are believed to have been poisonous have been dispatched to the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) for analysis.

This comes even as seven out of the eight pupils who were admitted to Athi River Level 4 Hospital were discharged from the facility on Wednesday.

One pupil is still admitted to the hospital for further observation.

Machakos Heath Executive, Daniel Yumbya said the samples have also been extracted from the pupils and sent for testing at the Machakos Level 5 hospital laboratories as authorities strive to contain the incident.

"We have collected and dispatched the samples of the wild fruits that were ingested by the children to Kemri for analysis and also instructed our public health officers to destroy the remains of the trees in line with the established safety guidelines," Dr Yumbya said in a statement to the press.

The minister further announced the county government will pay the hospital bill for the pupils.

The 51 pupils were taken ill on Tuesday afternoon immediately after eating the said wild fruits picked from a tree within the school compound. They exhibited vomiting and acute abdominal pains.