Toxic grain kills 11 in Kenya

2005-05-11 11:25

Nairobi - At least 11 people have died and several others have been admitted to hospital in the past week after eating mold-contaminated grain in famine-prone eastern Kenya, a medical official said on Wednesday.

"A total of 11 people have died in the past one week as a result of aflatoxins," said Peter Mburu, a regional physician for Eastern Province.

"Several others are currently undergoing treatment in clinics," he said. "We have, however, delivered medical supplies to dispensaries in the region."

Officials said food shortages in the area, a chronic problem, forced hundreds of families to eat grain contaminated with aflatoxins, molds that grow as a result of improper storage.

Large portions of Kenya's Eastern Province are semi-arid and people living there face food shortages annually.

Last year, at least 100 people died and several hundred others sickened after eating similarly contaminated grain.

Exposure to large amounts of aflatoxin over a short period causes acute liver damage and death, while the ingestion of small amounts over a longer period can cause liver cancer.

- AFP