Many adults and children living in an apartment building in Long Binh ward, Ho Chi Minh City, have reported symptoms of suspected food poisoning after eating bread purchased at a store in the area.
On the morning of September 26, speaking to Lao Dong reporter, Ms. Th., a resident of the apartment building, said that she and her youngest son had uncomfortable symptoms after eating bread on Tuesday afternoon (September3,).
Ms. Th. recounted: "I eat bread on Tuesday afternoon. By Wednesday afternoon, I started to get loose stools, get bored, and feel warm. That same afternoon, I had a high fever and had to go to a fluid infusion clinic. The doctor initially diagnosed him with viral fever."
However, after the water was given, the fever was cut into a slice and recurred at 8pm, accompanied by continuous bowel movements and vomiting all night. On Thursday morning (September 25), Ms. Th. still had a high fever of 40 degrees and had to return to the clinic to receive another fluid infusion.
By Thursday evening, due to symptoms that did not subside but became more severe (still high fever, vomiting, diarrhea), Ms. Th. was admitted to the Emergency Department of Hoan My Hospital. Here, the doctor diagnosed her with an intestinal infection 10 times more than normal people and is currently giving her a high dose of medicine to monitor her response.
Regarding her youngest son, she said that he only ate a small piece of bread and also had a fever, had little outing, but was now better and was being monitored at home.
Mr. T., another resident who also lived in the apartment, also shared about the condition of his two children. On Tuesday morning, two children (one in grade 11 and one in grade 4) had breakfast at a sales location in the apartment building, including bread and sticky rice.
"By Wednesday evening, both of them said they had had coughs and a mild fever all day. I gave him medicine and thought it was just a normal abdominal pain," said Mr. T.
On Thursday, when the children returned from school and still complained of stomach aches, Mr. T. began to feel unusual. He asked around and discovered that many of his young son's classmates also had similar symptoms. After that, he checked the residential group and found that many other people also had to go to the doctor and had the same symptoms.
Mr. T. commented: "I suspect it was at the bread selling place that the children bought to eat, because they all had something in common. This bread brand even sold at 3 locations in the area and on the residential group there was information that all 3 locations had people eating them that day, with symptoms of abdominal pain".
According to Mr. T.'s estimate and information from the residential group, about a dozen people were affected by the poisoning symptoms. However, the health of Mr. T.'s two children has stabilized.
Mr. T. said he reported the incident to the ward late Thursday afternoon. The next morning, he contacted the hotline and was instructed to write a group report.
Talking to Lao Dong reporter, a representative of Long Binh Ward People's Committee confirmed that the unit had received reports from people about the incident and is currently coordinating with the police to verify and investigate.
