-cooks released
Five of the persons affected by food poisoning after having lunch at the ‘B’ Division Community Policing Group retreat on Sunday returned to the Fort Wellington Hospital (FWH) yesterday; three were admitted for further treatment.
The victims, except for 16-year-old, Leena Dhanraj of No. 3 Village, had received earlier treatment at the FW and New Amsterdam Hospi-tals (NAH).
They told Stabroek News that they fell ill yesterday with abdominal pain and cramps, dizziness, and joint pain.
Police sources said yesterday that the five suspects who were in custody have since been released after nothing incriminating was found against them. Based on investigations, it was found that the poisoning was not intentional.
Over 100 persons were affected shortly after eating the meal of fried rice and chicken and had to be rushed to the nearby NAH for treatment.
Some 41 persons who were admitted to the institution were released on Sunday night and Monday morning.
About 50 persons from West Berbice were treated at the FWH up to yesterday with 13 being admitted so far.
At the FWH yesterday, an elderly woman told this newspaper that about
15 minutes after eating she felt that the “poison started working and like it force up the food.”
She said she went out of the building to throw up and noticed about 50 other persons doing the same.
Even at that stage she “did not take it seriously and I didn’t want to go to the hospital. I was waiting to see the reaction.” By the time she finally decided to go her condition had worsened.
She said because of the crowd she had to take saline while on the bench and later on the bed. After she was discharged on Monday morning she got relief but later felt weak and dizzy and experienced joint and abdominal pain.
According to her, persons were given extra boxes of food because there was a lot left back and after the poison started to take effect they “went and put them back.”
Trembling
Lachme Naraine, a CPG member of No. 11 Village who was admitted at the FWH yesterday said he started to feel sick around 3 pm but he did not go to the NAH.
After he reached home he started suffering from vomiting, diarrhoea and was feeling weak and dizzy and he visited the FWH where he was treated and got relief.
Yesterday he said he had become even weaker, his body was trembling and he was having joint pain. He was still experiencing dizziness.
Devika Deokie of Bush Lot who was one of the persons discharged from the NAH on Monday said all her earlier symptoms had recurred. She had to be admitted at the FWH yesterday.
She had told this newspaper on Monday evening that about half an hour after eating the food she felt a “serious pain” in her stomach but ignored it because she felt it was because she had eaten late.
She became concerned after she noticed the others, including pregnant women and children “running out of the building and vomiting. Water was not enough for them. The children were jumping up and hollering.”
When they got over to the hospital, she recalled, some persons were “walking and falling down and some just vomiting all over the hospital. Some people who had diarrhoea were messing up themselves.”
According to Leena Dhanraj she attended the function after CGP members in her community picked up a number of people to go to the retreat. She had also attended another CGP retreat in Georgetown on September 16.
The fourth form student of the Fort Wellington Secon-dary School said she did not have any symptoms until yesterday morning when she started feeling weak, dizzy and upset and her belly was hurting.
The girl who was crying because of her condition said some of her friends who attended were admitted at the NAH and were feeling better.
As the persons were admitted, Parbattie Sewnarine of Bush Lot was being discharged. She was sent home from the NAH on Sunday night thinking she was okay but she had to be rushed to the FWH on Monday morning.
From her hospital bed, she said her mouth was numb and her “belly cutting away [hurting]” and she was “having cramps.” She said too that she was experiencing headache and dizziness and kept “vomiting slime all the time.”
She said yesterday that her face was swollen and although she had improved the doctor told her husband to “keep an eye on me because the symptoms can come back.”
Testing
Police had said in a release that nearly 350 persons were in attendance at the retreat. The release said too that samples of the food and drink served have been sent for testing.
Chief Executive Officer of the Berbice Regional Health Authority Dr Vishwa Mahadeo had told SN, when contacted on Monday that investigations were underway.
A source close to the investigation had also revealed that it was likely a bacterial infection as a result of spoilt meat. Toxins in the meat, which was prepared as part of the meal, triggered the health problems for those who ate at the retreat, the source explained.
He noted that persons who were affected started showing signs and symptoms within an hour. Depending on how much food is consumed, the signs would show up early.
Some persons at the retreat first complained of feeling nauseous and within minutes they experienced vomiting and diarrhoea. However, the source had said, the majority of affected persons were not afflicted by diarrhoea.
He had said that the investigation has pointed to poor meal preparation. “From the time an animal is killed the meat has toxins inside which can be harmful which is why storage is important as is preparation,” the source added.
Some persons who spoke to this newspaper yesterday said though, that those who ate vegetarian food were seriously affected.
They were also of the view that the food could have been contaminated with a vegetable ingredient that had been sprayed with pesticide.
