Seventeen adults and 42 children from a village in Battambang province were hospitalized with suspected poisoning on Tuesday after possibly drinking contaminated water, a police official said on Wednesday.
The 59 patients, all from Kroper Tbong village in Banan district’s Phnom Sampov commune, were treated for vomiting and stomach pain at a local health center, said Mey Chhengly, the commune police chief.
“The weather was really hot.
Maybe they drank unboiled water, making them [ill],” he said.
As of on Wednesday, all 59 patients had been discharged from the health center, he said, adding that they were all expected to make a full recovery.
Mr. Chhengly said the high temperature, which he estimated to be about 39 or 40 degrees Celsius, was made worse by the village being situated behind a mountain, which blocks wind and thus exacerbates the heat.
Mr. Chhengly also said the area had seen heavy rainfall over the previous few days, reflecting a nationwide phenomenon that has led to record low temperatures and rainfall in the run-up to Khmer New Year.
