After 85 fall ill in Surat, Gujarat orders inspection of all student hostels in state

Following an incident of suspected food poisoning of 85 students at the hostel of PP Savani International School in Surat city, Health Minister Praful Pansheriya on Sunday ordered a thorough inspection at all the hostels in the state housing students — government, semi-government, grant-in-aid, or private — to check if the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) prescribed by the state health department is being complied with or not.

Issuance of instructions in this regard to the authorities concerned was made public by Pansheriya in a video statement on Sunday. The incident at PP Savani School was reported on Saturday when around 85 out of the 2,200 students at the hostel complained of stomach pain and some of them vomiting after dinner.

A statement from the Health department of Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) on Sunday stated, “They (the students) were brought to PP Savani Hospital by the hostel staff for treatment. Out of these, 73 students had minor complaints and were provided OPD treatment.

A total of 12 patients were admitted to the hospital (including 9 female and 3 male students aged between 15 to 17 years). Out of them, 4 patients have been discharged today after receiving treatment. Currently, 8 patients are undergoing treatment at the hospital and their condition is stable.