This archive report was first published on 8 August 2020.
On Saturday, two children were found dead in their house in Adero estate, Bondo sub-county. The incident occurred after the children's mother, Daisy Achieng', and her four children went to sleep on Friday night.
According to the police, Daisy Achieng' discovered the two children dead when she went to wake them up at around 7am on Saturday. The woman revealed that there was a charcoal jiko that had been lit but the fire was not put out by the time they retired to bed, as it was cold at night.
The children's bodies have been taken to Bondo sub-county hospital mortuary to await autopsy as investigations begin to ascertain the cause of death. The World Health Organisation (WHO) warns that concentration of carbon monoxide is high near street intersections, in congested traffic, near exhaust gases from internal combustion engines and industrial sources, and in poorly ventilated areas such as parking garages and tunnels.
Ear, Nose and Throat specialist Mbira Gikonyo explains that poisoning happens in humans when carbon monoxide is trapped in poorly ventilated and contained spaces. He notes that the gas is a silent killer as it cannot be seen yet it kills due to toxic effects to the circulation system after it is inhaled.
Dr Gikonyo attributes the high number of carbon monoxide poisoning deaths that occur when the individual is asleep to the involuntary state of the individual in slumber land, making them unable to control themselves and allowing the gas to sail through to the circulatory system leading to a slow, painless death.
