The Ministry of Health was alerted by the Kakamega County Health Department on October 3, 2023, regarding a suspected outbreak of acute paralytic illness at St. Theresa’s Eregi Girls High School. This outbreak raised significant public health concerns across the country. Initial cases were reported to exhibit symptoms such as bilateral lower limb weakness, affecting 121 students, with a subsequent increase to 194 cases by October 16, 2023. An advance team from Disease Surveillance and Response Unit (DSRU) and the Kenya Field Epidemiology and Lab Training Program (FELTP) was deployed on October 4, 2023, to investigate the outbreak, aiming to identify causes and design control measures.

The investigating team mounted a comprehensive multi-disciplinary investigation approach involving retrospective review of medical records, key informant interviews, focus group discussions, and environmental surveys at the school to gather additional insights. Medical specialists had joined the team on October 17, 2023, to confirm the diagnosis and provide detailed assessments.

At the end of the investigation, the findings and recommendations from the investigation were disseminated to various stakeholders including the school management, the Ministry of Health and Education at both the county and national levels, and other stakeholders.