Kids cleared of food poisoning

2004-07-01 22:43

Johannesburg - A total of 146 pupils from three Northern Cape schools have been treated for mild food poisoning and discharged from hospital, following their illness on Thursday.

The children were taken to Gauteng hospitals when they became nauseous after attending the Tirisano Schools Choral Eisteddfod at the Northgate Dome.

Mbali Msimango, a spokesperson for the Eisteddfod organisers, said: "It has been established that an independent caterer was contracted by the booking agent to serve dinner on Wednesday night for the children, who were staying at three hotels in Johannesburg.

"The food served gave a mild dose of cramps and vomiting. As of 16:00 on Thursday, all 146 pupils have been given the all clear," she said.

Msimango added that many of the affected children performed at the Eisteddfod after they were tested for viral gastro-enteritis at hospitals around Johannesburg.

"This was a precautionary measure as the children were complaining of vomiting and stomach cramps."

The Eisteddfod was an initiative to unify the previously fragmented school music competitions and had become the largest choral music event in the country, Msimango said.

Gauteng education department spokesperson Panyaza Lesufi said the first group of children started complaining of nausea, dizziness, headaches, stomach cramps and shortness of breath shortly after 12 noon on Thursday.

Johannesburg emergency services spokesman Malcolm Midgley put the number of affected children at 151, but The Dome management said there were 146.

The Dome managing director Carol Weaving blamed the independent caterer, not linked to The Dome, for the children's woes.

"Investigations by safety and health representatives at the venue and the event... and the environmental health department suggest that the food served last evening was to blame."

All possible steps were taken to stabilise the situation, and The Dome's own caterers were appointed to take over the feeding of the children at their respective hotels, Weaving said in a statement.

Lesufi said a team comprising officials from the departments of health and education was set up to determine the cause of the children's illness.

- SAPA