Two children have died and five others were admitted to hospital after separate suspected food poisoning incidents near East London.
Eastern Cape health officials confirmed the deaths on Saturday afternoon and have since activated provincial response protocols.
Eastern Cape food poisoning
One child from Mdantsane and six from Msintsi location near Berlin began suffering from dizziness, vomiting, diarrhea on Saturday morning.
Aged between four and seven, the children were admitted to Cecelia Makiwane hospital in Mdantsane, while one was taken to hospital in East London for specialist treatment.
“Sadly, 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 to stable and continue to receive treatment and observation,” the Eastern Cape department of health stated.
The six children from Msintsi were believed to be playing together and became ill after consuming snacks, while the cause of the Mdantsane incident is unknown.
“The department extends its deepest condolences to affected families and continues to provide clinical and psycho social support,” officials concluded.
Organophosphates
Food poisoning and the storage of food at spaza shops came to the fore in late 2024 after roughly 900 food-borne illnesses were reported between September and November that year.
The spate of food poisoning cases led the mass drive to register spaza shops and the closing of non-compliant establishments.
Government later highlighted the prevalence of an organophosphate called Terbufos found at spaza shops.
“In the townships, informal settlements and at taxi ranks, it is known as “halephirimi”.
Literally translated to mean ‘you will never see the sunset’, It is highly toxic, lethal and fast acting,” stated the South African Human Rights Commission.
Terbufos is banned in most South African Development Community countries, but not South Africa.
NOW READ: Over 15 000 Gauteng spaza shops deemed non-compliant, 7 000 foreign nationals apply
About the Author
