Butere Boys High School in Kakamega County has been closed indefinitely after over 100 students fell ill with an unknown ailment.

This comes only a day after another school in the same county, Sacred Heart Mukumu Girls’ High School, was closed indefinitely following similar causes.

The closure of the school came after over 100 students exhibited such symptoms as diarrhoea, and vomiting abdominal pain.

However, health authorities in the area ruled out Cholera as samples from the five students who were hospitalised were taken to Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) for further investigations.

Health specialists and representatives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) reviewed the school's cooking and dining areas to investigate the potential cause of the food contamination.

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Kakamega County Governor Fernandes Barasa also visited the school and confirmed that tests for various maladies including typhoid and cholera were conducted but the results were negative.

“Medical reports that I’ve received. Samples were taken. The boys were tested for typhoid it was negative. They were tested for cholera it was negative and that is why we now want to get further investigation which we have sent the samples to KEMRI because it is important for us to get the root cause. Otherwise, cholera and typhoid have been ruled out,” Barasa said.

Barasa said his county government would form an emergency team that would collaborate with the schools’ management and the national government to establish the cause of the strange disease.