There has been an alarming increase in incidents of suspected food poisoning at schools in the Eastern Cape over the past year.
In the latest incident, 261 learners from Ndamase Senior Secondary School in the Eastern Cape were affected. The learners have landed in a healthcare facility after a suspected food borne disease.
This after the learners started complaining about stomach cramps and loss of energy.
The incident follows a similar scare that took place earlier in the month of February. Then, 320 learners from another high school in the province were treated for vomiting and diarrhea. The symptoms were non-stop and lasted for two consecutive days.
Health department investigating
On Thursday, Eastern Cape health MEC’s spokesperson, Mkhululi Ndamase, said they are investigating and taking samples.
“The health environmental services are now looking into the matter. They are taking stools and samples from the school hostel for laboratory testing,” said Ndamase.
Ndamase urged the people who handle food to do so with caution. He said especially those preparing bulk food for places like hostels. Here the risk affects a large number of pupils.
“We urge people in hostels to exercise extra caution to prevent such incidents. We are going to work with the municipality and all other stakeholders in dealing with this latest incident.”
Other incident in the region
In October, an alleged food poisoning outbreak affected 120 learners from two neighboring schools in Komani (formerly Queenstown). It reportedly spread to another school in the area. Ambulances had to rush to the school to take the sick learners to hospital.
More than 100 parents of learners from Edlelweni Public Primary and John Noah High School were distraught as their children were ferried to healthcare facilities on October 26.
Community WhatsApp groups had raised the alarm at around 11:40 about children who had gone to the clinic in large numbers.
The Eastern Cape Department of Health confirmed the number of treated learners, aged between 8 and 15, to be 120. The cause of the alleged food poisoning could not be confirmed.
Food safety standards
According to reports, the recent incidents of food poisoning in Eastern Cape underline the need for comprehensive measures to uplift food safety standards.
This includes improved regulation and monitoring of food vendors and heightened public awareness about safe food practices. As well as stricter enforcement of food safety regulations.
By implementing these measures, authorities can safeguard the health and well-being of learners and prevent future food poisoning incidents.
Crackdown on expired foods
Police inspections at the small-scale stores in the province led to confiscation of expired food products. Joint operations with environmental health officials were carried out. These were aimed at clamping down on local traders dealing in expired stock.
These incidents have drawn attention to the pressing need for improved food safety regulations and monitoring in the Eastern Cape.
Government allayed fears
Department of Health spokesperson, Dr Sizwe Kupelo, said back then that the department was concerned about the incident in which 34 learners were initially sent to the hospital who had abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting.
“More learners from another school, John Noah High School, suffered an alleged food-borne disease. Tests are yet to confirm the cause of the sickness. The two schools are separated by a fence,” said Kupelo back then.
No fatalities
“In all, 120 learners presented signs of itchiness, some had shortness of breath, and some had high temperatures. The department would like to confirm that there have been no fatalities at this stage and all children are in stable condition.”
The Eastern Cape health department has not responded to Sunday World’s queries on the latest incident affecting 261 learners.
This is a developing story.
