18 treated for food poisoning

Most of the people who were treated for food poisoning at San Fernando General Hospital after eating food from a San Fernando secondary school have been discharged.

The South-West Regional Health Authority (SWRHA), in a media release on Friday said 18 people, mostly school children, had been brought to the hospital’s Accident and Emergency Department complaining of vomiting and abdominal pains.

All of them had reportedly eaten barbecue from a girls college. They had received “immediate attention and medication and most have been discharged.”

SFGH director of health Dr Albert Persaud today said only one person had not been discharged. He said the symptoms – abdominal pain; dizziness; nausea and vomiting were all consistent with food poisoning.

The SWRHA said the information “is being shared on the grounds of public interest to encourage affected persons to present themselves for treatment and to ensure that the impact of this incident is contained as far as possible.”