Authorities announced on Tuesday that 52 people were affected by mass poisoning that might have stemmed from drinking water in a village in northern Turkey. Ten among them are still in intensive care, while 31 others were discharged from hospitals after receiving treatment, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca announced on his social media account.
All, including children and adults, were residents of Çaydurt Yuva village in the northern province of Bolu. The province’s governor, Erkan Kılıç, earlier told reporters that some 20 people have sought treatment at hospitals with complaints of vomiting and nausea. The governor said the source of the poisoning was not clear but might be linked to “food or water.” Crews from the local public health directorate and food control authority took samples from the water grid supplying the village as well as from foods consumed by villagers. The governorate urged locals to boil the water before drinking as a precaution.
Sezgin Aydoğan, whose 12-year-old son was hospitalized, told Ihlas News Agency (IHA) that his son had a severe stomachache, bloody diarrhea and fatigue when he was admitted to the hospital some three days ago. “Doctors did not give an exact diagnosis yet but they suspect an intestinal infection,” he said. Aydoğan said his nephews were also poisoned and hooked up to dialysis machines at a hospital in the capital Ankara they were transferred to.
Sedat Keskinkılıç, whose mother and mother-in-law were among those hospitalized, said his son also had symptoms but he recovered. “People from some 10 households in the village were affected. My mother is in serious condition. I live in the same house as my mother but I don’t have any problems. We ate the same food, shared some house but I don’t know why it did not affect me,” he said.
