The mystery surrounding a series of food poisoning incidents in Soweto deepened as two more children from the West Rand lost their lives after allegedly consuming poisonous food purchased from a taxi rank on Wednesday night.
Mystery Soweto food poisoning outbreak spreads to West Rand
This tragedy follows a similar incident days earlier, where two four-year-old children in Soweto died, reportedly after eating biscuits from a foreign-owned spaza shop.
Provincial police commissioner Elias Mawela confirmed that investigations are underway to determine the cause of death.
“Two children bought some food. Unfortunately, we’ve lost those two children. The other three who were treated and discharged, they’re going to help us to look for the people who sold the food to them,” Mawela stated.
The bereaved families and the community are in shock, awaiting answers as the police continue to unravel the source and cause of the poisoning.
In the earlier incident, it was alleged that the biscuits consumed by the children were purchased from a foreign-owned spaza shop in Soweto.
Two other children who were part of this incident survived and were rushed to hospital for treatment. The authorities have yet to confirm the cause of death as the post-mortem results remain undisclosed.
Gauteng Health Department ramps up compliance blitz targeting spaza shops
On the health precaution front, Gauteng Health spokesperson Motalatale Modiba mentioned that health education initiatives were conducted on Wednesday in Naledi and neighbouring areas.
This initiative encompassed local spaza shops, ensuring compliance with the Foodstuffs, Cosmetics And Disinfectants Act, and food labelling regulations.
Gauteng Health MEC Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko has called for a coordinated effort among all governmental spheres to enforce compliance with relevant laws to prevent such tragic incidents in the future.
The department also urged the public to seek immediate medical attention at the nearest health facilities if they experience symptoms like vomiting, sudden chest pains, body aches or weakness, fever, or foam in the mouth.
An outbreak response team, which includes Environmental Health Practitioners, Ward-Based Outreach Teams, Communicable Disease Control specialists, Surveillance Officers, Infection Control, and Health Promoters, will continue conducting awareness campaigns in the affected and surrounding areas.
The police have collected food samples for further analysis to pinpoint the source of the poisoning, although the exact cause remains unconfirmed pending the ongoing investigation.
