Escherichia coli detected in dry rations given out to children who got poisoned in Anapa

As reported today by Oleg Tushmalov, the head of the Moscow Interregional Investigatory Department for Transports of the Investigatory Committee of the Russian Federation (ICRF), the dry food kits, which had been given to the children who returned from a summer camp in the Krasnodar Territory and were hospitalized en route, the coliform bacillus was detected.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that in the period from August 28 to September 8 a group of children from Karelia was vacationing in the summer camp "Prometheus" in Anapa. On September 8, children had their snack and took their train home. On the way, 40 pupils and several adults were taken away from the train with signs of food poisoning. The children were sent to hospitals in different regions, in particular, in Tambov and Ryazan Regions, and in Moscow.

The train arrived in Petrozavodsk on September 10, where four more children were hospitalized. By September 15, the number of cases of acute intestinal infections in children went up to 48; all the patients were diagnosed as dysentery.

"The Escherichia coli was detected in the food parcels, which had been given to children - in apples, bread and waffles," said Mr Tushmanov.

He explained that "right now it is too early to draw conclusions, because this E. coli was probably not the causative agent of dysentery," the ITAR-TASS reports.

The outlet named "Zhivaya Kuban" (Live Kuban) adds that nothing dangerous was found in the train.

"We took samples of water, foodstuffs from the restaurant car and so on. So far, no infections have been found in them," said Tushmalov, adding that "some of the studies are still ongoing."