Living in Peru : your everyday companion

Health | 30 August, 2006 [ 17:24 ]

About 150-300 people contract food poisoning after barbeque

About 150-300 people contracted severe food poisoning after a communal barbecue in Inaguaya, a small Peruvian village on the Ucayali river in thedepartment of Pucallpa. Initial reports that one person had already died where not confirmed.

Robinson Rivadeneyra, Governor of Loreto, confirmed that he and a team of 12 regional first-aid doctors are headed to the rural area with nearly 200 liters of sodium chloride to provide adequate rehydration and electrolyte supplementation.

Heriberto Salas from the Health Center of Contamana said that until now 45 affected people have checked into his hospital and he estimates that the number will increase to way over one hundred, according to the actual number of participants at the "parrillada".

Patients suffer from nausea, abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, fever, and headaches, reason why doctors consider their condition critical.

“We are very concerned because more and more people continue to arrive at the hospital and they don't have enough medicines; they are already running out. We are a small district and we need all the help we can get”, lamented Cesar Vargas who lives in the village.

He explained that the first case appeared around 2:00 a.m. when one of the helping volunteers at the village's festivities in honor of Santa Rosa de Lima arrived at the hospital, complaining of headaches, colic and very high fever.

Vargas said he doesn't believe that high alcohol consumption or badly conserved meat was responsible because many of the hospitalized people are very young.

tags : Peru health barbeque food poisoning parrillada Inaguaya Loreto Pucallpa

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1 Comment

# Wolfy says :
1 September, 2006 [ 10:18 ]

- update -
the number of treated people has risen to 404.
Doctors say the cause is salmonellosis. Even some people who did not attend the barbeque have been treated.
The situation in hospitals is described as chaotic.
Settlers are blaming authorities. They say that their water supply comes from the Inahuillo creek which is contaminated by cattle excrements.

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