A four-year-old boy died and 13 others were admitted to hospital after consuming meat from a dead carcass in Kimilili, Bungoma County.
The incident happened in Namwanga village where a cow had died out of East Coast Fever on Monday January 26, 2026.
The bull had died and villagers decided to slaughter and consume it.
Police said a boy aged four died after consuming the meat from the cow. This was after he complained of stomach pain, vomiting and headache.
He succumbed at a local hospital, police said.
Police said 13 other people who also consumed the meat also complained of pain and stomach and headache.
The victims were admitted in hospitals where officials said they were responding well to treatment.
Police said the bull was slaughtered and meat was distributed to locals. The owner of the bull was arrested for interrogation.
The local administrators said they had embarked on a civic education campaign to inform locals not to consume meat from carcasses.
They were informed to burn and dispose the carcasses for their own safety.
A team of veterinarians visited the village to contain the spread of the disease amid fears of an outbreak.
East Coast Fever (ECF) is a severe and often fatal tick-borne disease in African cattle caused by the parasite Theileria parva, leading to high fever, enlarged lymph nodes, loss of appetite, laboured breathing and significant economic losses.
Spread by the brown ear tick (Rhipicephalus appendiculatus), it’s a major threat in East and Southern Africa, with management relying on tick control, treatment (early stages), and a live vaccine using the Infection and Treatment Method (ITM).
Elsewhere, a four-year-old boy was killed in fire incident in Kiamumbi, Kiambu County
A four-year-old boy was killed in a fire incident in Kiamumbi area, Kiambu County.
The incident happened in Animer village within Muoroto area and left a family homeless, police said of the Thursday dawn tragedy.
The boy was sleeping when the fire broke out and trapped him in there.
The locals managed to contain the spread of the fire as police arrived the scene and moved the remains to the mortuary pending autopsy and other procedures.
The cause of the fire was not immediately established.
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