An investigation by the Health Services of the Ministry of Health is in full swing, after mass food poisoning of dozens of guests at a wedding reception in Limassol, with the authorities considering a specific food as a possible cause and not ruling out the possibility of a microbial agent or toxin.
According to information from Filenews, the food consumed by the attendees seems to have been chicken à la crème, with the first indications from the examinations of the Health Services referring to salmonella. According to the Head of Health Services, Herodotos Herodotou, the findings are still preliminary and confirmation is required from the State Laboratory, the results of which are expected in the coming days. At the same time, he noted that some patients showed symptoms in a very short period of time, which leads to the possibility of involvement of a toxin-producing microbe, such as staphylococcus.
Mr. Herodotou called on the public, in case they have shown symptoms, to immediately contact the district offices of the Health Services for instructions and evaluation. At the same time, it is being examined whether there has been a similar incident of poisoning from the same premises, which had prepared food the previous Saturday. It is recalled that more than 70 guests from Limassol and Paphos showed symptoms of food poisoning. Specifically, 39 guests from Limassol showed symptoms, while according to the information so far, 15 people were hospitalized, including children. Until yesterday, the number of hospitalized people had risen to 21, with the authorities estimating that it may be higher.
At the same time, about 35 guests from Paphos also showed symptoms, of which three people had to be hospitalized. These are people who attended a wedding reception on Sunday (31/5) in Limassol, with the Head of the Health Services of the Ministry of Health, Herodotos Herodotou, stating on our website that samples for food and water analyses were taken from the first moment from the premises.
According to Mr. Herodotou, the competent services acted immediately as soon as they were informed about the incident, they contacted the couple of the event, who reported that about 50 people had shown symptoms from the first moment. "We immediately started the investigations, as well as the taking of personal interviews from the patients - guests. An on-site inspection was carried out, food samples were taken and the operation of the premises where the food was prepared was suspended for a few days," he said.
