86 students of SRIT college fall ill due to food poisoning, 30 admitted to hospital in Anantapur

Students complained of loose motions after consuming dinner at the hostel; all students receiving treatment at the hospital were doing well except for one severely dehydrated girl, says District Immunisation Officer

May 31, 2023 08:11 pm | Updated June 01, 2023 04:50 pm IST - ANANTAPUR

District Medical and Health Officer K. Veerabbai and  District Immunisation Officer P. Yugandhar talking to the students who suffered food poisoning at SRIT college hostel on Wednesday morning in Anantapur district.

District Medical and Health Officer K. Veerabbai and District Immunisation Officer P. Yugandhar talking to the students who suffered food poisoning at SRIT college hostel on Wednesday morning in Anantapur district. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Thirty Srinivasa Ramanujan Institute of Technology (SRIT) engineering college hostlers in Bukkarayasamudram mandal were admitted to a private hospital in the early hours of Wednesday after developing loose motions due to food poisoning.

As per the District Medical and Health officials, 86 students (42 boys and 44 girls) living in the college hostel complained of loose motions at 3 a.m. on Wednesday. Thirty of them were severely dehydrated and shifted to a private hospital in the city. A female faculty member is also said to have suffered the same symptoms.

As many as 586 students, including 274 boys and 312 girls and a few faculty members, stay in the hostels of the autonomous engineering college at Rotarypuram, located 15 km from Anantapur city. The autonomous college was founded by Singanamala YSRCP MLA Jonnalagadda Padmavathi and her husband, Aluru Sambasiva Reddy.

Cause yet to be ascertained

“We are trying to find what caused the food poisoning as each of the students had different dishes served at the hostel last night. Only rice and water were common in those dishes,” said Mr. Sambasiva Reddy.

“At 9.30 a.m. (Wednesday), we visited the hostels, where some students were receiving treatment. All the students have recovered,” said District Immunisation Officer Dr. P. Yugandhar.

Samples sent for testing

District Medical and Health Officer K. Veerabbai also visited the hostel to talk to the students and enquire about the food poisoning incident.

Meanwhile, the District Medical and Health officials sent the food samples for laboratory tests. They pointed out that the majority who suffered had egg fried rice or curd rice, which was allegedly highly fermented

Dr. Yugandhar said that all students receiving treatment at the hospital were doing well except for one severely dehydrated girl. But some complained of loose motions and vomiting at the hospital on Wednesday evening, he added.

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