FREETOWN, May 19 (Xinhua) — A total of 104 people have been hospitalized in Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone, after consuming contaminated food from a cookery shop.
According to a statement by the University of Sierra Leone Teaching Hospitals Complex late Saturday, the 104 patients from the Mabella community, including 26 children, are all in stable condition, and no deaths have been reported.
The hospital said the patients have shown various symptoms, including vomiting, weakness, dizziness, malaise, and bloody stools, and an emergency response team was immediately activated to provide prompt and comprehensive care to those affected.
The police assisted with crowd control and the investigation of the suspected source of the contamination, which was traced to a local cookery shop, where the owner and his daughters were also affected by the incident.
Further investigation is still underway.