Fifty-six people were hospitalized after eating pork at a
marketplace in south China's Guangdong Province on Saturday, witnesses and
the local government said on Monday.
The victims, all from Yangshutou village in Caotan Town of Suixi
County, suffered stomachaches and vomiting on Saturday night, said
a villager on condition of anonymity.
He said a "temple fair" - similar to a village fete - selling
snacks and small commodities was held in the village on Saturday
afternoon. Organizers of the event slaughtered a pig, cooked it and
rationed out the meat to the villagers.
"Many people fell sick after they ate the pork for dinner that
night," the villager said.
He said 12 of the cases were serious and had to receive
emergency treatment at the county hospital, while all the others
were being treated at the local clinic.
The Central Hospital in Zhanjiang City and the county hospital
in Suixi have sent a team of 80 medical workers to help with the
rescue work at the village clinic.
Hospital sources said all the patients were in "stable
condition" on Monday.
The local health authority suspects the illnesses were caused by
mass food poisoning and has launched an investigation.
(Xinhua News Agency May 28, 2007)