SHAH ALAM, June 11 — The Selangor Health Department (JKNS) is conducting an investigation to identify new cases related to a food poisoning incident involving 30 primary schools at the Gombak district-level “Program Kemahiran Amal Islami” (KAMIL) on Saturday (June 8).
JKNS director Dr Ummi Kalthom Shamsudin urges anyone affected or involved in the incident who are experiencing symptoms to promptly seek treatment at any healthcare facility.
“JKNS confirms receiving reports on the incident, which resulted in two deaths out of the 247 exposed individuals, with 82 of them reported to have symptoms.
“Those involved include administrators, teachers, school staff and family members aged between 19 months and 58 years, with main reported symptoms being diarrhoea, stomach pain, fever, vomiting and nausea,” she said in a statement today.
Dr Ummi Kalthom stated that fried vermicelli and sunny-side-up eggs supplied to teachers and programme administrators by an external food handler are suspected to be the cause of the food poisoning. The appearance and taste of the food had apparently “changed”.
She said that a total of 28 individuals have received outpatient treatment and no cases have been admitted to the ward.
Dr Umi Kalthom added that food samples from the day of the incident were taken and sent to the National Public Health Laboratory (MKAK) in Sungai Buloh to identify the actual cause of the incident.
She advised programme organisers and the public to be cautious in selecting premises and food suppliers and reminded food handlers to always prioritise food and beverage hygiene and safety to prevent cases of food poisoning or outbreaks.
Earlier, the police confirmed receiving two reports of deaths involving a 17-year-old boy and a two-year-old girl, suspected to be due to food poisoning from a religious school in Gombak.
Gombak police chief ACP Noor Ariffin Mohamad Nasir said the teenager had consumed food brought back by his mother after attending a religious programme at the school on Saturday (June 8).
He said the two-year-old girl, meanwhile, had consumed food brought by her father, a security guard at the school, on Saturday. She had symptoms of fever, vomiting and diarrhoea around 10.45am yesterday. — Bernama
