Health Ministry to investigate case of children's mass intoxication at camp in south Moldova town

Chisinau, 26 June /MOLDPRES/ - The case of mass intoxication of children at a camp in the southern Taraclia town will be investigated by an inter-sectoral working group, with the involvement of chief specialists from the Health, Labour and Social Protection Ministry (MSMPS).    

According to the ministry, the working group will also be made up of representatives of the National Public Health Agency, Municipal Clinic Hospital of Contagious Diseases for Children, general education directorate of the Education, Culture and Research Ministry (MECC), National Food Safety Agency (ANSA) and General Department of the General Police Inspectorate.  

The working group will present to MSMPS the results of the investigations on 28 June 2018 and will propose to local authorities and decision-makers from Taraclia concrete measures for preventing the appearance of similar cases.

Concomitantly, another inter-sectoral working group, which includes specialists of MSMPS, MECC and ANSA, will urgently elaborate a questionnaire, on the basis of which all camps from Moldova will be evaluated in terms of ensuring the safe conditions for children on the summer period.  

In the last week-end, 29 children were put in hospital with intoxication while they were resting at a summer camp in Taraclia.  The first symptoms of the disease appeared in three children at 1:00 am on 23 June. On the same day in the afternoon, another 18 children appealed to the camp’s first-aid point with the same symptoms. They were carried and put in the district hospital. All children had fever 37.5-39 degrees, stomachache and headache, weakness, vomit and diarrhea.      

Following the incident, the authorities ruled to cease the activity of the camp to carry out disinfection procedures and establish the circumstances of the children falling sick.  

(Reporter A. Zara, editor M. Jantovan)