- Alleged food poisoning outbreak among learners has reportedly spread to another school in Komani (formerly Queenstown)
- 120 learners from two schools showed signs of itchiness, shortness of breath and high temperatures yesterday with some rushed to hospital
- The Department of Health confirmed that there were no fatalities and all learners were in a stable condition
An alleged food poisoning outbreak which affected 120 learners from two neighboring schools in Komani (formerly Queenstown) yesterday, has reportedly spread to another school this morning. Ambulances are currently rushing to the school. Komani-Karoo Express is currently trying to get confirmation on this morning’s outbreak from the Eastern Cape Health Department.
It was a highly emotional day for over 100 parents from Edlelweni Public Primary and John Noah High School after learners from the schools suffered from an alleged food-borne illness and had to be transported to Frontier Hospital from the Lizo Ngcana Clinic in Komani (formerly Queenstown), by the provincial Emergency Medical Services yesterday, October 26.
Community WhatsApp groups raised the alarm at around 11:40 about children who had gone to the clinic in 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 yesterday.
Nosakhumzi Dastile, one of the parents whose 12-year-old daughter, Asanda, was transferred to the hospital, said she immediately ran to the school when she heard about the incident.
“I was on my way to the school when I saw my daughter, Asanda walking towards me. She was crying hysterically and was scratching her upper body. I tried to find out what was happening, but she would not talk. Other children were coming behind her doing the same thing,” she said.
There were also other parents walking towards the school to find their children.
“I then took my daughter to the clinic where I found a huge number of other children who were scratching their bodies. It was madness and I got the scare of my life when my daughter started collapsing. I helped her up, but she collapsed again and was taken away to get oxygen. She came back better,” said Dastile.
Her nightmare was, however, not over as she was told that her daughter would be transferred to Frontier Hospital in Komani.
She said it was quite an emotional rollercoaster of uncertainty.
“I had no idea what would happen to my daughter as I waited while doctors checked her. Would she have a long-term illness? Would she come back alive from the consulting room?,” said Dastile.
Despite the red mark on her chest, Asanda was “out of the red”.
“She’s fine now, but just complaining of itchy eyes. She was discharged on the same day from the hospital. I would, however, like to take her to a private doctor tomorrow just to be sure. Otherwise, I am not happy with what happened. The vendors must be removed from that school,” said Dastile.
Department of Health spokesperson, Dr Sizwe Kupelo said 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.
“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.”
This is a developing story.
