PNS|Eluru
District Collector V Prasanna Venkatesh, SP Mary Prashanthi, and MLA K Abbayya Chowdary, led a delegation of officials to the Government General Hospital here on Saturday to meet the students who were admitted for treatment after they contaminated food.
The incident occurred when 194 students from five states arrived at Navodaya School in Pedavegi mandal to participate in a sports meet. Among them, 74 students fell ill after consuming food at the school, leading to their hospitalisation. All of the affected students are reported to be out of danger.
Collector Prasanna Venkatesh personally interacted with the ailing students to enquire about their health and the circumstances surrounding the incident. He also held discussions with the hospital doctors to get a comprehensive understanding of the students’ medical conditions.
Speaking to the media, Collector Prasanna Venkatesh informed that adequate medical services were being provided to the affected students. He explained that students from Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Kerala, and Karnataka arrived on August 3rd for the sports competitions at Jawahar Navodaya School in Pedavegi village.
The students started experiencing symptoms like vomiting and stomach ache on Friday evening, which was attributed to the consumption of spicy food. Upon receiving the reports of the illness, immediate local treatment was provided, and a special medical camp was set up at the school premises. The District Medical and Health Officer personally supervised the medical services until 3 pm on Friday.
Subsequently, some students developed fever, leading to their admission to the government hospital for better medical care. Presently, 74 students are under treatment at the hospital, with only three of them experiencing diarrhea. Collector Venkatesh assured that the students’ health condition is stable at the moment.
Meanwhile, the parents of the affected students have been informed of the situation, and the students had the opportunity to speak with their parents over the phone. Samples of the food have been sent for testing, and the Collector announced that appropriate action will be taken against those responsible for the food contamination incident once the test results are received.
MLA K Abbayya Chowdary also expressed his concern and stated that a total of 195 students from five states had participated in the sports meet scheduled from August 3 to 5. Fortunately, all 74 students who suffered from fever and vomiting are now out of danger.
The school authorities had also set up a medical camp to closely monitor the health condition of the students during the sports event. The visit to the hospital was attended by ZP Chairperson Ghanta Padmasri, RO K Penchala Kishore, medical superintendent Dr. M Seshidhar, and chief physician Dr. P Srinivasa Rao, among others.
