An injection gone horribly wrong

Mathew Edajai shows the affected leg of one of the pupils affected by an injection gone bad. [PHOTO: BENJAMIN SAKWA/STANDARD]

The tale of the 28 children from Busia who were given the ‘injection of death’ has been in the media for a while now.

The children had all gone to Akichelesit Dispensary in July last year and a medic there gave them an injection that caused them to suffer paralysis and weakened limbs.

Following a public outcry, the then Health Cabinet Secretary James Macharia intervened and ordered the children be transferred to Nairobi Hospital for specialised treatment.

They were discharged a week later to continue with physiotherapy exercises back home and since then they have pretty much been out of the lime light.

We traced some of the affected families to find out how they were doing and found that things for some have gone from bad to worse.

“My child’s leg is weak, she complains of headaches, loses her memory and finds it difficult to walk,” says Abel Okiror, a parent.

He says he was advised to massage the leg using hot water but this has not worked.

“Things have gone on to become worse and now when I take her to hospital they only give me painkillers. I fear there is no medication to cure what she is suffering from,” Okiror says.

The tale is the same with Stephen Osiya who is seeking answers as to what ails his seven year old son.

Osiya says his son was treated for only three days at Nairobi Hospital then discharged but that his situation has now deteriorated to an extent that he cannot walk.

“I am almost defeated because they is nothing more I can do having taken him to various hospitals. I do not know exactly what my son is suffering from or the medication he needs,” he says.

According to Dr Mwenesi, a physiotherapist at Kakamega County Referral Hospital, the children are battling with sciatic neuritis. He says they were injected directly on the sciatic nerve which is a main nerve in the leg.

“Immediately one is injected on the sciatic nerve, they feel numb in the affected leg. If the injection is done next to the sciatic nerve, the leg swells but one can recover within a short time,” he says.

While there are no drugs one can give to cure the condition, it is managed through several therapies.

“The condition can be treated through infrared rays which heat the affected part to dilute the drugs which may have clotted in the body. Heat massage can also be used,” he says

The doctor says neurobine tablets can also be used as nerve vitamins to ease the pain.

“The condition can be corrected within the first six months of infection. Use of support devices such as knee and ankle devices is also recommended. They can also be a special shoe to help those affected walk correctly while daily exercises will also help them,” he says.