Eighteen children who fell ill after eating lunch in a
kindergarten in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region have been
discharged from hospital and are back at school, local sources said
on Thursday.
The source of the poisoning was confirmed to be bacterial.
Traces of bacillus dysenteriae, which causes diarrhea, were found
on kitchen tools and equipment in the cafeteria of No. 3
Kindergarten of Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang, according to local
sanitation surveillance authorities.
The children showed symptoms of diarrhea, vomiting and dizziness
after eating lunch in the cafeteria on Oct. 25. They were admitted
to Xinjiang Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital for
treatment.
The cafeteria has been ordered to stop supplying food and
improve sanitation conditions. Pupils are now eating homemade
lunches or buying lunch outside the kindergarten.
(Xinhua News Agency November 9, 2006)