A Recipe for Trouble: School Kids Fall Sick After Eating Mushrooms

Thirteen schoolchildren in a village in West Bengal's Bankura district fell ill after eating mushrooms they cooked at an Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) center. They were first taken to the Raipur Rural Hospital with symptoms of food poisoning like vomiting and severe stomach ache. However, after the condition of some of them deteriorated, they were shifted to the Bankura Sammilani Medical College & Hospital where their condition has improved, sources said.

What is Food Poisoning

Food poisoning (1^✔ ✔Trusted Source
Symptoms of Food Poisoning

Go to source) occurs when people ingest contaminated food or beverages, leading to symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain. The contamination can be caused by bacteria, viruses, parasites, or toxins, often due to improper food handling, cooking, or storage. Common culprits include Salmonella, E. coli, and Norovirus.

Symptoms typically appear within hours to days after consumption and can range from mild to severe. Most cases resolve on their own with rest and hydration, but severe cases may require medical treatment. Preventive measures include practicing good hygiene, cooking food thoroughly, and avoiding cross-contamination.

It is learnt that the mushrooms they ate were collected from a local field and taking advantage of the staff at the ICDS kitchen, the kids themselves cooked and consumed them.

Doctors suspect that the kids picked up infected mushrooms, which resulted in food poisoning.

The parents of the kids, however, have complained about negligence on the part of the authorities at the ICDS centre, where the kids were allowed to cook mushrooms they picked from a local field.

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They also claimed that the ICDS centre neither has any boundary wall, nor does the kitchen have a proper door locking system.

Reference:

1. Symptoms of Food Poisoning - (https://www.cdc.gov/food-safety/signs-symptoms/index.html)

Source-IANS