Five People Die From Food Poisoning

Bawku (U/E) Sept. 17, GNA - Five members of a family at Jetinga near Bawku, in the Upper East Region, died at the Presby Hospital on Friday after taking a left-over meal from a funeral as their breakfast Three others, who were in critical conditions were still on admission, whilst three were also in a stable condition.

The dead have been identified as Aziz Sumaila, 12, Shaiba Adama, 8 and Dawuda Sumaila, 10. The rest include, Bimata Sumaila, 40, and her 4-year-old daughter, Lizeta Sumaila.

Those on admission were Hamidu Adama, 3, Yahaya Adama, 13, and Amina Adama 14. Rekia Adama, 45, Hajaratu Adama and Habib Adama, 7 were the victims who survived.

According to one of the victims, Hajaratu Adama, who spoke to the Ghana News Agency (GNA), her mother, Rekia Adama, attended the grandfather's funeral on Thursday night and returned on that fateful Friday morning with some left-over rice balls, which were served at the funeral grounds.

She explained that the mother instructed her to buy groundnut paste to prepare soup for the family to take with the rice balls, which she did.

Hajaratu said after the meal's preparation, her mother distributed it among her siblings and gave some to her auntie, Bimata (mother's sister) who ate together with her children.

She said she took a little of her food, covered it and decided to clean the kitchen since she was in a hurry to attend a meeting, whilst the others continued to eat theirs.

She said as she was about to leave the house, she saw that the mother was vomiting followed by foaming at the mouth and finally she collapsed.

Hajaratu said, whilst she tried to revive her with water, she noticed that her other siblings also started vomiting and she rushed to inform the Assemblyman of the area of the incident. The Assemblyman, Mr. Ibrahim Dramani, said when Hajaratu informed him of the incident, he rushed to the place but managed to carry only Rekia Adama on his motor-bike to the hospital whilst he informed those on motor-bikes to convey the rest to the hospital.