At least 140 students from City Nursing Hospital and College, Mangaluru, fell ill and had to be rushed to the hospital, in a suspected case of food poisoning, in Mangaluru, police said on Tuesday.
According to the police, the students had consumed chicken kebab and ghee rice at their respective hostelson Sunday night.
Around 2 am on Monday, several female students felt sick and were immediately admitted to multiple hospitals in the city, said police. All the students are studying nursing and paramedical courses. Health officials are suspecting food poisoning as the cause of the incident.
Confirming the development, Mangaluru city police commissioner N Shashi Kumar said: “The incident came to the fore on Monday night as more than 300 people had gathered in front of the city hospital. More than 100 students were admitted to various hospitals in the city. A few were discharged after availing treatment”.
“The number of students being admitted to the hospitals increased after 9pm since Monday. At present, 113 students are being treated at various hospitals in the city,” Dakshina Kannada deputy commissioner M R Ravi Kumar said.
“An ambulance was sent to the hostel immediately after the number of patients increased. A team of officers comprising district food safety officer, district surveillance officer and district training centre inspected all the three hostels where 231 students are staying. All of them are studying in the City Group of Institutions,” he said.
“We also spoke with the students admitted in hospitals. We have submitted a preliminary report,” he added.
Police said that as of now 42 students are being treated at AJ Hospital in the city, 18 at KMC hospital, 14 at Unity Hospital, 28 at Kankanadi Father Muller Hospital, eight at City Hospital and three at Mangala Hospital.
“After consuming dinner in the night, many students complained of stomach ache and vomiting around 2 am on Monday and were admitted to hospitals. Many discharged after treatment,” district health officer Dr Rajesh said.
“On Monday, we sent a medical team to the hostel, collected samples of drinking water and food, and sent them to Mysuru Food research laboratory for analysis,” the DHO said.
The medical team also collected samples of meat kept in deep freezer, he said, adding that the medical team instructed hostel authorities to not prepare food in kitchen till further instructions from the department. “All the students are stated to be out of danger and most of them will be discharged by Tuesday evening,” he said.
Meanwhile, an FIR has been registered in Kadri police station against the management in connection with the incident.
The case was registered following a complaint by district surveillance officer Dr. Jagadish, against the college management. The complaint stated that “poisonous food was served to the hostel students”. It further stated that “cleanliness has been neglected in the preparation and supply of food”, and “also in admitting students to the hospital”.
It said that appropriate information has not been reported to the district administration.
Based on the complaint, the police registered case under Sections 176, (omission to inform government) 328 (providing intoxicant knowingly hurts others and 337 ( hurting others due to negligence) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
In a similar incident last month, more than 100 students of Morarji school in Shivamogga fell ill on January 18, after complaining of food poisoning, and were later discharged from the hospital. Though the number of food poisoning cases in various hostels are on the rise in the state, the health authorities are not conducting regular inspections and are visiting the hostels only after students fall sick.