Central SA
Health officials probe cause of food poisoning at Bloemfontein school─── ZENANDE MPAME 12:17 Tue, 11 Mar 2025
The Free State provincial outbreak response team is keeping an eye on the situation after 214 learners reported symptoms consistent with food poisoning following a weekend matric study camp at Kagisho Secondary School in Bloemfontein.
Of the 355 learners who attended the study camp, 214 learners experienced symptoms including nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal cramps, and fever. All learners who were awaiting blood tests at the hospital have been discharged (10/3).
The learners attended a study camp when an unconfirmed incident of food poisoning occurred on Sunday. Later that afternoon, several learners began reporting symptoms consistent with food poisoning.
“On Monday, 214 learners started experiencing symptoms consistent with food poisoning and were transported to local health facilities,” said Free State Health spokesperson Mondli Mvambi.
67 learners were attended to at Pelonomi’s Casualty ward and five at Pelonomi Netcare. Photo supplied
“142 learners were seen at the Poly Clinic, 67 at Pelonomi Casualty, and five at Pelonomi Netcare. Local health authorities were notified, and the school administration cooperated fully with ongoing response efforts.”
Environmental health practitioners have been activated to investigate the cause of the incident and recommend measures to prevent future occurrences, he said.
To determine the extent of the outbreak and address any new developments, the outbreak response team is keeping an eye on the situation, and control measures are being implemented to prevent further spread of the illness.
‘A total of 890 food-borne illnesses were reported’
Last year, the South African government declared food poisoning a national disaster after food-borne illnesses claimed the lives of at least 22 children. At the beginning of September last year, there was a total of 890 reported incidents of food-borne illnesses across all provinces.
The Free State Department of Finance, Economic Development, and Tourism conducted 1,275 compliance inspections from November across the province; 198 tuck shops and food handling outlets were compliant, and 170 were not compliant.
Destea MEC Ketso Makume has called on all spaza shops and business owners, including food handling outlets, to continue registering their businesses.
