A total of 43 students from Ngaqa Primary School in Mtubatuba, KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa, were hospitalised for suspected food poisoning, according to local education authorities.
The provincial education department confirmed that the students fell ill after consuming snacks purchased from street vendors outside the school.
“The students were rushed to a local clinic and were released upon medical treatment. Some tests were taken to the laboratory,” stated Muzi Mhlambi, spokesperson for the Department of Education in KwaZulu-Natal.
Mhlambi added that the department is working with the police and the Department of Health to investigate the cause of the incident.
This comes amid a troubling rise in food poisoning cases among children in South Africa. On October 6, six children died from suspected food poisoning in Johannesburg, and over 130 students from Gauteng, Limpopo, and KwaZulu-Natal provinces were hospitalised for similar reasons earlier this month.
In response to the surge in incidents, South Africa’s National Department of Health deployed an 80-member investigation team, which includes environmental and health inspectors, to examine the circumstances surrounding these cases and to inspect food sold in local tuck shops.
The investigation began on Monday, and the exact cause of the suspected food poisoning remains under scrutiny.
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