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28 March 2024

Food poisoning hits hundreds of workers

Picture used for illustrative purposes only. (AGENCIES)

Published
By Staff

Hundreds of workers were affected by food poisoning over the last two days at a labour camp in the Western Region, prompting the Madinat Zayed Hospital to activate a disaster call and dispatch an emergency medical team to treat some of the workers on site.
 
Conflicting reports emerged in the local press about the exact numbers, ranging from 100 to as many as 230 who were affected.
 
According to Gulf Today, as of Sunday, the hospital treated a total of 236 patients, 117 at its premises and 119 at the camp in Habshan.

Of these, 44 were admitted at the hospital, one for severe food poisoning symptoms while the others for moderate illness.According to a report in Gulf News, the workers suspected chicken biryani they had eaten on Friday night.

"Most of us started feeling exhaustion, vomiting, loose motions, headaches and stomachaches by 9am on Saturday at the worksite," J.R, an Indian mason, was quoted as saying in the paper.

"Some of the workers had breakfast around 9am as usual. But those who did not have the breakfast also fell ill," the workers claimed.

"That's why we suspect that chicken biryani caused the trouble," said S.M, a Pakistani carpenter.

According to Dr Emad Nasrallah, head of the hospital’s emergency department, the sick workers started coming in small numbers at 11.50am on Saturday and continued till Sunday. They complained of vomiting, diarrhoea, lethargy, fever, stomach cramps and abdominal pain, all symptoms of food poisoning. Some workers were given fluids intravenously and others were treated with antibiotics. “It is food poisoning, but we don’t know the pathogen (an organism that causes illness) yet,” said Dr Nasrallah, noting that the affected workers from Pakistan, India and Bangladesh had their usual rice, meat and fish before the incident.The Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority (ADFCA) immediately closed down the staff kitchen at the Habshan camp while investigation is being carried out to determine the cause of poisoning.Mohammed Jalal Al Reyaysa, Director of Communications and Community Service at the ADFCA said that the food authority had already taken samples of the food consumed by the workers for laboratory testing.