KOCHI: Ernakulam has reported another incident of food poisoning with as many as 13 children from an anganwadi in the Ponnurunni East division of Kochi corporation falling ill on Saturday. Earlier this month, Kalamassery and Thrikkakara municipalities had reported an outbreak of Hepatitis A and diarrhoea.
Poor quality of drinking water is suspected to be the cause of the spread. “Fifteen students were present in the class on Thursday. Of them, 13 had symptoms of diarrhoea. Their caretaker too is suffering from similar symptoms,” said Dipin Dileep, the Ponnurunni East councillor. The condition of those affected by the spread is satisfactory, said corporation health standing committee chairman T K Ashraf. “They sought treatment at various hospitals and are getting better. There were no hospital admissions,” he said.
The anganwadi used drinking water supplied by the Kerala Water Authority, Dipin pointed out.
“There is a tank in which the water supplied by KWA is stored. We have been using water from the tank for several months now. However, it has unexpectedly caused the illness. The health department officials are investigating the issue,” he added.