Life & Health

Health officials have advised Nepalis to take "extra precautions" while enjoying delicacies at wedding parties during the ongoing wedding season. 

It sounded alarm after nearly 150 people suffered from food poisoning after enjoying a wedding feast on Saturday, December 3, at Bodeganga in Bagnaskali rural municipality in Palpa. 

There, a total of 138 people had taken ill after enjoying the wedding feast. They included 101 people from the bride’s side and 37 visitors from Pyuthan who were part of the groom’s marriage procession. 

Some of them were receiving treatment at Palpa Mission Hospital as of this writing. 

The mass food poisoning incident caused a lot of commotion when 138 people had to be rushed to nearby hospitals for medical treatment. It also prompted health authorities in Kathmandu to dispatch health teams to provide first aid, as well as investigate what went wrong. 

As per the preliminary investigation conducted by the Ministry of Health, contaminated water collected from an irrigation canal could have caused mass food poisoning. Authorities dispatched to the site have collected samples of water, which was later sent to Provincial Laboratory in Lumbini for tests.

A statement issued by the Ministry of Health and Population said: “Those who consumed food in the party suffered food poisoning. They had stomach ache and vomiting.”

Dr Abhiyan Gautam, deputy health administrator at Epidemiology and Disease Control Division said: “Of those who suffered, 35 were admitted in Mission Hospital in Palpa. Seven of them are still admitted in the hospital.”  

Health condition of all the patients is normal, he added. 

With wedding season in full swing, the EDCD has urged people to take extra precaution while enjoying feasts. 

Dr Gautam said: “People cook food in large amounts and precautions are not taken. Food is also not handled or cleaned properly. Water contamination is a huge problem. Contaminated water should not be used to clean dishes or served to drink.”

Where water cannot be boiled, the right amount of chlorine should be used to purify water, he said, urging hosts and cooking staff to serve fresh and well-cooked food.