Siasat: Saudi Arabia: One person dies in food poisoning outbreak

Out of 75 hospitalized cases, 50 were identified as being caused by Clostridium botulinum.

Riyadh: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia‘s Ministry of Health (MoH) has announced that the food poisoning outbreak in Riyadh’s restaurant resulted in 75 hospitalisations and one death.

The news came to light on Thursday, April 25, when Riyadh Municipality received a report from the committee of food poisoning cases.

In a statement on Saturday, May 4, the ministry that all food poisoning outbreak cases are related to the same source and no new cases have been reported in the past five days.

“The total number of monitored cases reached 75, including 69 Saudi citizens and 6 residents,” the ministry spokesman Dr Mohammed Al-Abd Al-Aly said.

The statement revealed that 50 out of the cases were identified as being caused by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum.

The ministry indicated that 43 of them recovered and were discharged from the hospital, while 31 cases remained in hospitals, including 20 in intensive care, while there was one death.

It emphasized the importance of obtaining instructions and information from official sources and avoiding the circulation of rumours and false information.

On Friday, May 3, the Riyadh Municipality revealed that it has shut down the main supply facility and all branches of a restaurant in Riyadh and Al Kharj, with all food items to be destroyed.

The municipality did not name the company involved but in a video message on Instagram on April 26, Hamburgini’s founder and CEO, Nawaf Al-Fozan, confirmed the chain’s involvement in an outbreak.

https://www.siasat.com/saudi-arabia-one-person-dies-in-food-poisoning-outbreak-3020236/