By Chisomo Phiri
About 38 female students at Nsalu Secondary School in Lilongwe , who reside in a private hostel, have been rushed to Kabudula Community Hospital with suspected food poisoning.
Speaking to local media, Hospital director Dr Mackson Zephaniah says over 30 students have been admitted to the hospital for observation and they are receiving the necessary medical attention.
According to the director, the illness followed their consumption of Nsima with Chinese cabbage in the evening and rice porridge in the morning.
The affected students exhibited symptoms such as abdominal pains, vomiting, diarrhoea, and some reported headaches.
This also Prompted the hospital to conducted a cholera test, but the results have come back negative.
Meanwhile, Kabudula community hospital’s Assistant Environmental Health Officer, Wilson Mandala, has initiated an investigation into the hygiene conditions of the hostel and is working to identify the potential cause of the food poisoning.
When contacted the owner of the hostel, Rutherford Banda, refused to comment on the matter, saying he was attending to family matters.
