Child dies of suspected food poisoning, 3 family members ill:Grandfather says they ate bitter gourd and drank bel sherbet

A 7-year-old child died due to suspected food poisoning in Unchehra block of Satna district, while three other family members are ill. The child’s grandfather, Babulal Dahiya, said that on the night of May 20, all family members ate home-cooked bitter gourd (karela) vegetable with roti. After that, they drank bel sherbet. Late at night, the child Kishun (7) suddenly fell ill. He started suffering from severe vomiting and diarrhoea. Soon after, other family members also developed dizziness, vomiting and diarrhoea. By morning, before the family could take the child to hospital, the suffering child Kishun died at home. Grandparents and brother admitted in private hospital, treatment underway On Thursday, when the condition of other three family members worsened, they were first taken to the district hospital and later shifted to a private nursing home. The patients include: Doctors treating the patients, Dr. Divyant Gupta, confirmed that this is a severe food poisoning case, and all three patients are suffering from severe diarrhoea. Administration puzzled over cause of death: Pesticide, sherbet or well water? Pesticide in vegetables: According to Unchehra BMO Dr. A.K. Rai, initial investigation on Friday morning revealed that bitter gourd plants are grown in a garden behind the house. A pesticide spray was carried out on the plants just a day earlier. The family reportedly picked the same bitter gourds without proper precautions and cooked them at night. The department suspects that pesticide exposure may have caused the food poisoning. Bel sherbet: The deceased child’s grandfather Babulal said that after eating the vegetables, everyone drank bel sherbet, after which symptoms of poisoning-like effects appeared immediately. Contaminated water: Villagers say the family has been using well water for drinking for a long time. Due to summer, the well water may have become contaminated, leading to diarrhoea. However, BMO Dr. Rai has initially rejected the contaminated water theory based on early statements. Health Department said – Avoid eating stale food, drink boiled water After receiving information about the incident, health department teams were deployed in the affected village. Doctors have appealed to rural residents to avoid eating stale food in extreme summer conditions and to drink only boiled or filtered water. They also advised not to consume vegetables that have been recently sprayed with pesticides. PHE team reached the village, collected water sample from the well The Public Health Engineering (PHE) team has reached Parasmania village. The team collected water samples from the well at Babulal Dahiya’s house and sent them for examination. The team also added disinfectant powder for cleaning the well water.