Patients are being cared for at Nha Trang hospital. — VNA/VNS Photo

NHA TRANG — Almost 200 people have been treated for food poisoning after eating contaminated chicken from a restaurant in Nha Trang City.

A total of 195 people were admitted to hospital after they fell ill following a meal at Trâm Anh Restaurant.

Patients complained of nausea, diarrhoea and intermittent stomach cramps.

Some elderly people and children who felt particularly sick were transferred to Khánh Hòa Province General Hospital for continued treatment.

Deputy Director of the Khánh Hòa Health Department Trịnh Ngọc Hiệp said that up to now, testing of specimens and food samples has not yet yielded results, so the cause of the incident could not be determined.

Authorities checked the restaurant and took food samples for testing. It has also been closed while the investigation is being carried out.

The owner of the establishment presented a certificate of business eligibility, a certificate of establishment qualified for food safety. Three out of six health examination certificates of facility owners and employees had expired.

He failed to present the sales contract and other documents related to food origin and had not done a three-step food inspection and did not store food samples according to regulations.

On March 13, hospitals in Nha Trang City received 60 patients with symptoms of vomiting, fever and abdominal pains.

They had all eaten at Trâm Anh chicken rice restaurant.

On the same day, the Department of Health directed medical examination and treatment facilities in the province to be ready to receive and accept patients, without delay in providing emergency treatment to patients.

Medical facilities were asked to consult with the provincial General Hospital on professional matters when cases develop abnormally, become more complicated or worse, and are difficult to predict.

On Friday, the Department of Food Safety under the Ministry of Health sent an official dispatch requesting Khánh Hòa Province’s Health Department to urgently treat the patients and conduct an investigation to clearly determine the cause of food poisoning.

The Food Safety Department also recommended authorities to guide food service establishments to ensure hygiene and food safety conditions as well as strictly implement the management of food raw material origin and food inspection, and strengthen information dissemination to people about food safety and food poisoning prevention measures. — VNS