Videos: Mhluzi learners taken to hospital after eating suspected contaminated snacks
Parents call for broader testing as dozens of learners are hospitalised and authorities investigate possible contamination linked to snacks bought outside a school.
Several Ekwazini Secondary School learners in Mhluzi were taken to hospital after consuming snacks suspected to be contaminated, with the number of affected learners at 52.
According to Middelburg Observer, learners reportedly fell ill shortly after eating the snacks, with symptoms including nausea, vomiting, stomach cramps and dizziness.
The newspaper reports that the school says the incident initially involved three learners who complained of severe stomach cramps after eating It Krunchy Nax bought from a local vendor outside the school premises.
After an ambulance left the scene, three more learners began complaining of cramps.
Health authorities advised the school to take all learners who ate the snack to hospital for assessment and monitoring, resulting in 52 learners being transported for observation.
Emergency response and hospitalisation
Emergency services responded promptly, with ambulances transporting affected learners to hospital, where they received medical treatment.
Middelburg Observer previously reported that residents noted seeing multiple ambulances arriving and leaving the school as emergency responders assisted learners.
Videos of learners arriving at hospital have circulated on social media, while footage of parents being updated at the school has also been obtained.
Warning: The audio of the following video may upset sensitive viewers
Watch parents being addressed at the school:
Parents rushed to hospital for updates on their children’s conditions, while others, unaware their children had been taken there, were left panicking.
Condition of learners
All affected learners are said to be stable and recuperating, despite earlier reports that several were in a serious condition.
Investigation and testing underway
Health inspectors have taken samples of the It Krunchy Nax, National School Nutrition Programme food at the school, as well as water sources, for contamination testing.
Results will be released once testing has been completed.
Parents have requested that tests be conducted on products from vendors frequently visited by the children.
Earlier, a staff member confirmed that affected learners had bought snacks from a woman selling on the school premises.
At the time of the initial incident, both the Mpumalanga Department of Education and the provincial health department indicated they were unaware of the situation and would seek further information.
*The article has been amended since it was first published to indicate the number of learners taken to hospital, as supplied by the Mpumalanga Department of Education.
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