Butter Chicken Meal Turns into Medical Emergency at Kerala's GMC- 90 MBBS Students suffer suspected food poisoning

Thiruvananthapuram: A butter chicken meal turned into a medical emergency for nearly 90 MBBS students of the Government Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram, who developed symptoms of food poisoning after dinner at the women’s hostel recently. The students reportedly consumed butter chicken, fried rice, and lime juice before experiencing vomiting, diarrhoea, dizziness, and abdominal discomfort, forcing 84 of them to seek emergency treatment.

While all students are in stable condition, the incident has triggered an alarm on campus, especially with exams underway. Those who ate vegetarian food were reportedly unaffected, prompting suspicions about the non-vegetarian dish. Food safety officials have collected samples, and an investigation is ongoing.

Speaking to PTI, official sources informed that a few female students at the government medical college suffered from suspected food poisoning, allegedly after eating a non-vegetarian dish served during a meal.

A medical college official said that five students living in the women’s hostel sought treatment in the emergency department for diarrhoea. Subsequent enquiries at the hostel revealed that more students experienced similar symptoms but had recovered and did not require treatment.

One of the students who claimed to have suffered from food poisoning told a TV channel that around 80 of her hostel mates were also affected.

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Principal-in-charge Dr U Anuja, in a statement, said it could not be confirmed whether the students fell ill due to food poisoning.

She further added that there was no need to be worried as the students do not have any major health problems.

She also noted that of the 600 students living in the hostel, many eat food from outside, so it was unclear whether the illness was due to eating hostel food.

Another hospital official said that students claimed they fell ill after eating butter chicken served at the hostel on May 15, and those who had vegetarian food did not show any symptoms.

The principal-in-charge said samples of the hostel food have been sent for testing to the Food Safety Department of the government and the microbiology wing of the medical college hospital.

All precautions have been taken in the hostel regarding food preparation and provision of clean drinking water to the students, the statement added.

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