Visiting British children's sports team discharged from Dubai hospital

Half of the team members and a coach of a British children’s sports team, Dyke House Sports & Technology College in Durham, UK, on a visit to Dubai were admitted to hospital Saturday morning when they suffered from severe vomiting and diarrhoea.

A total of 24 patients were rushed to Saudi German Hospital, after the occurrence of the symptoms in several of the team members caused concern among the coaches.

Among the patients were 23 boys, aged between 11-16, and their 34-year-old coach.

The first cases of illness appearing on Thursday evening were soon followed by a restless night, with half of the team falling ill.

A bus and 7 ambulances were mobilised to transport the disease stricken team to the emergency section.

According to the hospital management, all patients were discharged by midnight on Saturday.

However, it is not yet clear what caused the symptoms.

“It can be either a viral infection, or food poisoning. This will have to become clear from research that is currently ongoing,” the office clarified.

All patients had recovered by the end of the day, and left the hospital in a happy state, they added.

The boys and their coach were on a visit to Dubai to attend a training camp, and will remain in Dubai over the coming days.

Although it is not uncommon for large groups to fall ill simultaneously, the new hospital located in Dubai’s Al Barsha area said it had not earlier received such a large number of patients at the same time, but said it was equipped to deal with the admissions.

“We had all the beds needed available, and we gathered a team of 6-7 doctors to attend to the patients. They were all admitted within an hour,” the hospital management said.

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