Health centers in Pursat province dealt with more than 200 cases of suspected food poisoning on Friday, after the patients are thought to have fallen ill from eating lunches distributed at a CPP gathering to choose a commune candidate, police said on Sunday.
The morning meeting concluded around noon, and the roughly 600 attendees ate a lunch of rice, pork and soy sauce, said Vorng Savet, Phnom Kravanh district’s police chief.
About 200 leftover meals were also taken to the nearby Bat Romdoul primary school and eaten by children as young as 4, he said.
Through the afternoon, patients were admitted to the commune health center and hospitals in the province with symptoms of vomiting and diarrhea, Mr. Savet said.
A total of 213 were admitted, most of them children, he said.
Samples of the food were sent to the Commerce Ministry’s Camcontrol, the country’s consumer goods regulator.
Authorities believe the rice was the cause of the mass illness, and should receive confirmation by the end of the week, Mr. Savet said.
All of the victims have recovered and been sent home, he added.
