Report

A food poisoning incident at the Karuppannasamy temple in Kalvimadai village, Virudhunagar district,  Tamil Nadu, left 107 devotees hospitalised after they ate food served as part of an ‘anna dhana’ (charity meal) during the temple’s ‘Kumbabhishekam’ festival, which began on June 6. Shortly after the meal, many devotees experienced stomach pain, vomiting, and, in some cases, lost consciousness. Health workers quickly moved the affected people to nearby Primary Health Centres and later shifted them to the District Government Hospital for further treatment.

Medical Team Monitors Patients Round the Clock

By Monday evening, Rajaji Government Hospital in Madurai had admitted 107 patients, including 41 men, 55 women, and 11 children. Dr Saravanan, who leads the medical team, confirmed that everyone received antibiotics, treatment for vomiting and diarrhoea, and fluids through glucose drips. “We monitored everyone closely. We shifted seven patients to a separate ward as a precaution, but everyone is stable and recovering well,” Dr Saravanan said. He added that all patients would likely be discharged after two days of observation.

Health Officials Probe Source of Contamination

Health authorities suspect that either the food or the drinking water served at the temple event caused the outbreak. The Virudhunagar Health Department has collected samples, and test results will confirm the exact source of contamination. In a similar case earlier this year, on April 23, fifteen students from a government school in Tiruchirappalli fell sick after eating a mid-day meal. Doctors treated them on-site for food poisoning symptoms before admitting them to a nearby hospital for further care.

Source: India Today