SINGAPORE, Dec 4 — A gastroenteritis outbreak has affected 24 children at the Little Seeds pre-school centre in Potong Pasir, Singapore, with seven hospitalised on Monday.

The pre-school, located at the Calvary Baptist Church branch, is operated by Anglican Preschool Services (APS).

Four of the hospitalised children have since been discharged, while the remaining three are in stable condition, according to a joint statement from the Singapore Food Agency (SFA), the Ministry of Health (MOH), and the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) sent to The Straits Times yesterday.

APS confirmed that three of the children were diagnosed with salmonella infection.

Salmonella, a common cause of foodborne illnesses, can spread through contaminated food such as raw meat, eggs, and poultry, leading to symptoms like diarrhoea, nausea, abdominal pain, and fever.

In response to the outbreak, the pre-school has implemented several precautions, including suspending all group activities, keeping children in their classrooms, increasing cleaning and disinfection efforts, and temporarily closing its kitchen in favour of catered food.

The Straits Times reports that the exact timing of the first case in this cluster remains unclear.

This follows a similar incident in January 2024, when eight children at Haven Infant & Toddler Centre Tanjong Pagar experienced gastroenteritis symptoms, which were believed to have been caused by a viral infection.

Little Seeds, which caters to children aged 18 months to six years, operates 16 branches across Singapore.