Sixty-five children in Guangdong Province fell ill after eating
breakfast at a school canteen on Monday, ten of them seriously.
The 65 children were sent to local clinics and hospitals for
treatment at midday on Monday when headaches, cramps and vomiting
set in after they had had breakfast in the school canteen at about
7:00 AM. They were diagnosed with food poisoning and most were
treated with gastric lavage and intravenous drips.
The ten seriously children were transferred to Dianbai County
People's Hospital and Maoming Municipal People's Hospital, where
they remained hospitalized Tuesday in serious but stable
condition.
A doctor at Dianbai County People's Hospital said that the ten
were out of danger and receiving treatment by intravenous drip,
while the remaining children had all been released. "No deaths have
been reported so far," the doctor added.
All the victims are aged between 13 and 17 years and are
students at Wangling Middle School, where 1,450 children are
enrolled.
Officials believe the food the children ate was contaminated
with some kind of rat poison.
An investigation is under way.
(China Daily March 31, 2004)