16 MRSM students suffer suspected food poisoning
JOHOR BARU: Around 16 students from Maktab Rendah Sains MARA (MRSM) Johor Baru have experienced symptoms of vomiting, diarrhoea, and fever, suspected to be caused by food poisoning.
State Health and Environment Committee Chairman Ling Tian Soon said upon receiving information about the incident from MRSM around 2pm today, the Johor Baru Health Office was immediately instructed to take further action.
"Sixteen students showing symptoms were sent to various government and private healthcare facilities.
"The Johor Baru Food Safety Division from the district health office has gone to the MRSM to carry out an investigation," he said during a press conference at the JumpX Launch Ceremony at a shopping mall here today.
Ling said the incident reportedly began last night, and by this afternoon, the number of symptomatic students stood at 16.
He added that although the exact cause of the poisoning has yet to be identified, it is believed to have originated from food served at the canteen, and samples will be taken by the health office for testing.
"The health office will collect food samples from the canteen and interview the affected students to gather information for further investigation.
"In the meantime, we advise that the canteen operations be temporarily halted for cleaning, and only resume once approved by the health department," he said.
Earlier, a screenshot of a Facebook post went viral, in which a user claimed they had to rush from Melaka to Johor Baru after their child complained of vomiting, possibly due to food poisoning.
The post alleged that many students were affected before tagging MRSM Johor Baru as the location.
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