17 hospitalised after meal of poisonous herb in Meru

Seventeen members of a family are admitted to Consolata Mission Hospital in Nkubu, Meru, after eating a meal of suspected poisonous herb.

Five adults and 12 children started complaining of dizziness and blurred vision about 30 minutes after taking the meal of ugali and the poisonous herb in Kionyo village, Imenti South, on Sunday.

Ms Ann Kiende Majau said a child, who was visiting his grandparents, was sent to fetch a traditional vegetable known as ''kanyuria'' only to pluck leaves of the poisonous herb.  

DIZZY

The anomaly was not detected as the leaves were hurriedly prepared for dinner. 

A relative said they noticed something was amiss after some members of the family started behaving strangely, including acting as if they were mad.

 “After about 30 minutes, some of them started feeling dizzy while others complained of loss of sight. Some acted as if they had gone mad, our father is still unable to talk,” she said.

Imenti South Assistant Constituency Manager Stephen Muriuki said the plant shares a lot of similarities with popular vegetables.

 “We have inspected the farm and found the poisonous herb which is similar to popular vegetables. I think the child could not distinguish between the two plants,” he said.

ACTING STRANGELY

He said most of those who had been taken ill are responding well to treatment. A neighbour told the Nation that the family members started acting strangely.   

“They started acting as if they were mad. The children were jumping up and down on their beds, we had a difficult time controlling them,” he said.

Kiungone Chief David Kimathi urged parents to guide their children to avoid such problems.