39 kids fall sick after eating idlis

HYDERABAD: About 39 children, aged between one and five years, were admitted to the Niloufer Hospital on Sunday, after they fell by eating idlis sold by a woman-vendor in Janapriya Colony at Kukatpally.The condition of three children is reported to be slightly serious as they were continuously vomiting and suffering from diarrhoea, while 16 had convulsions. The condition of the rest is stable, said Dr Daruru Ranganath, superintendent of Niloufer Hospital. He added, “The children are suffering from food poisoning. They may have been affected by the roadside idlis they had consumed.”K Yallappa, father of two-year-old K Marappa said, “Around 8 am, when all childrens’ parents, who are vendors of plastic articles went off  for business, the kids ate idlis from a 45-year woman-vendor. She has been supplying breakfast like idly, dosa and bonda for the last five years. But today they started vomiting and having loose motions after eating idlis. We were informed about the incident by our neighbour and we immediately rushed them to the hospital at Kukatpally. The doctors there told us take the children to Niloufer Hospital. Now they are under treatment.”Samples of the idlis, vomit and stool of the children have been sent to the forensic lab and Institute of Preventive Medicine for further tests. After getting the report, we can ascertain the exact reason for the incident. The report will come by Monday morning, said Dr Ranganath. “We will keep the children under observation for 48 hours,” he added.The 100-odd families of vendors of plastic articles had migrated to Hyderabad from Kurnool district ten years back and set up temporary huts in the Janapriya Colony.