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Jatropha tree and seeds

Bongani Ndlovu Showbiz Correspondent—
NINE Manondwane Primary School pupils spent Wednesday night at Mpilo Central Hospital in Bulawayo after they ate poisonous Jatropha seeds, causing them to vomit in class. The nine, who were among 37 children rushed to the hospital on Wednesday, were discharged yesterday. “All of the children were discharged by this morning [yesterday] and are no longer in danger. Some of them hadn’t taken the fruit,” Mpilo public relations officer Sibusisiwe Ndlovu said.

The Nketa 7 school, in a precautionary measure, took a decision to send the whole Grade 2 class to hospital after several of the children ingested the Jatropha fruit while playing within the school grounds during a break.

Yesterday, the Provincial Education Director Dan Moyo said he was issuing a directive that all schools should cut down Jatropha trees within their grounds to avoid a similar incident.

“I’m out of the office today, but I’ve advised my officers to send communication to that effect. This is a necessary step because the health of our children is paramount,” Moyo said. Ndlovu, meanwhile, has advised parents to tell their children not to eat anything which their parents have not given to them.

“One of the children said it all began with one child who picked the Jatropha fruit. That child started saying to others I’m selling this fruit at $1 for two,” she said. “Others started picking the fruit saying they can’t buy something that’s available for free. That’s how this whole thing started.”

She said should parents discover their children have eaten Jatropha, they should rush them to hospital. “As a home remedy, they can use milk to neutralise the effects of the fruit but they should quickly rush the children to hospital. This is very important because they wouldn’t know how much the child would’ve eaten. The rate of absorption of the fruit varies per child,” she added.

Jatropha is a multipurpose tree. The plant can be used to produce soap, lubricants, biodiesel and helps in soil conservation. A doctor said: “When one ingests the seeds, which is never advisable, they will experience severe vomitting, loose stools and abdominal pain which can be fatal.”