Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Food poisoning: 138 students fall ill

Staff Reporter

District Collector asks RDO to inquire into the incident

OUT OF DANGER: Some of the students who were admitted to General Hospital with symptoms of food poisoning on Friday. Photo: S. Gopakumar

Thiruvananthapuram: One hundred and thirty eight children from two Government schools in the city were rushed to the General Hospital on Friday when they took ill after consuming the noon meal served at schools.

The children, who were brought in around 2.30 p.m. with symptoms of food poisoning, were administered intravenous fluids and their condition had stabilised by evening, doctors said. Fifty-nine children from Manacaud Girls High School and 79 from Cotton Hill Girls' HSS were taken ill after they consumed the rice and sambar that was served. Except for 21 children, who were taken to a private hospital at Edapazhanji and five at the SAT hospital, all others were brought to the General Hospital.

The noon meal was prepared and supplied to the schools from the Vanchi Poor Fund, a charitable organisation that prepares noon meals for in 29 city schools daily. The condition of none of the children is serious.

The food inspector from the health services has collected 10 food samples from the Vanchi Poor Fund and two each from the two affected schools. The samples have been sent for analysis at the Government Analytical Laboratory and the Microbiology Department of the Medical College Hospital. District Collector N. Ayyappan, who visited the sick children at the General Hospital, said that the RDO has been asked to inquire into the incident and submit a report as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, the Vanchi Poor Fund management claimed that they had despatched the same fare, rice and sambar, to other schools also. The same was consumed by the 300-odd inmates at Sri Chitra Poor Home.

Minister's directive

Top officers of the Health Department and medical staff rushed to the General Hospital and attended the victims on Health Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan's directive to provide emergency treatment to themDirector of Health Services B. Mahilamani said that a special ward with adequate cots and beds had been arranged for the students. She said the food samples collected were sent for examination to the Analytical Laboratory and the Microbiology Department of the Medical College.

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