Suspected food poisoning cases in Bani Walid
Libya – Mahmoud Al-Sarrari, director of administrative and financial affairs at Bani Walid General Hospital, disclosed updates on cases the hospital had received on suspicion of food poisoning, saying they involved three families: the first of six people, the second of five, and the third of two, in addition to two children admitted during the evening period.
Ready meals under scrutiny
Al-Sarrari said, in remarks to Libya Al-Ahrar television, which broadcasts from Turkey and was monitored by Al-Marsad, that initial accounts indicated those affected had eaten ready meals from outside their homes, including shawarma and tabouna from a restaurant in the city, while the competent authorities were following up to verify the source of the cases and their causes in line with applicable health and regulatory procedures.
Medical care and case follow-up
On medical care, Al-Sarrari said medical teams and the emergency department had treated the cases as soon as they arrived to assess their condition, under direct instructions from the hospital’s general director to form a specialised emergency committee to monitor those affected and provide all emergency and inpatient treatments.
He noted that some cases whose level of toxicity was not severe had left after their condition stabilised, on doctors’ instructions, while the remaining cases were kept under medical observation for 24 hours to confirm they were safe before being allowed to leave.
He stressed that all cases currently at the hospital were under follow-up, that their condition was stable and their vital signs were good according to medical tests and diagnoses issued by doctors, and that medicines, medical supplies and tests were available from the hospital’s reserve stock.
Calls for tighter restaurant oversight
Al-Sarrari said the general hospital was discharging its emergency and treatment duty, stressing the need for regulatory bodies, including the Food and Drug Control Centre and the Municipal Guard, to carry out their field role in monitoring restaurants across Bani Walid and its surroundings and checking sources of meat and side items such as mayonnaise and ketchup to verify they were fit for use.
He added that medical staff and the hospital were on standby and in a state of emergency alert in case further cases arrived, noting that the meals had been ordered by phone from midday and Tuesday night and that poisoning symptoms had appeared the following day.
