KUGOMPO CITY – Seven children were admitted to Cecilia Makiwane Hospital today, 7 February 2026, with suspected food poisoning. Six were from Msintsi Location near Berlin and one from NU3 Mdantsane, as confirmed by the Eastern Cape Department of Health.
According to the Eastern Cape Health Department spokesperson Camagwini Mavovana, “The children, aged between 4 and 7 years, presented with symptoms including vomiting, diarrhoea and dizziness.”
She noted with sadness that two children were declared deceased on arrival despite resuscitation efforts by clinical teams. “Five others remain under medical care. One child has been intubated and transferred to Frere Hospital for advanced critical care, while the remaining four are reported to be stable and continue to receive treatment and observation.”
Mavovana added that preliminary information from families indicates that six of the children from Msintsi had been playing together and consumed snacks prior to becoming ill. “The circumstances relating to one child from NU3 are still being established; however, the exact cause of the suspected food poisoning has not yet been confirmed.”
The Department’s emergency and outbreak response protocols were activated following this incident.
“The District Environmental Health Unit has been deployed to investigate the source of the illness,” Mavovana concluded.
