Over 30 students from Ajumako Afransi Technical and Vocational Institute in the Central Region have been hospitalized following a suspected case of food poisoning.
The students began experiencing severe stomach pains, nausea, and vomiting shortly after consuming a meal of Waakye and stew during lunch on Tuesday, June 11, 2024.
School authorities quickly responded by rushing the affected students to the Ajumako Baah Hospital and Ajumako District Government Hospital for treatment.
Concerned parents arrived at the hospitals and the school to check on their children, as more students fell ill and were subsequently hospitalized on Wednesday morning, June 12, 2024.
The school authorities have yet to comment on the incident.
This outbreak follows a similar incident in the Asante Akyem South District of the Ashanti Region, where at least 18 residents of Atwedie were hospitalized after consuming a meal of rice and beans, popularly known as ‘waakye’.
Victims in that incident experienced stomach aches and diarrhoea, with one person undergoing surgery due to severe symptoms.
Some residents accused the vendor of contaminating the stew which affected many people who bought the ‘waakye’ earlier.
Also, five people died after eating ‘waakye’ they bought at the popular Oyibi Bush Canteen Junction, in Accra, in January this year.
About 40 people were reportedly affected, out of which five, including a pregnant woman and a lotto vendor, died.
In March 2023, a teaching assistant at the University of Media, Arts, and Communication (UniMAC), formerly Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ), died of alleged food poisoning.
Meanwhile, the cause of the suspected food poisoning at Ajumako Afransi Technical and Vocational Institute remains under investigation.
