Arya News - The students showed symptoms after meals from the government-run free nutritious meal program.
JAKARTA – The Cianjur Health Agency in West Java has declared an extraordinary occurrence (KLB) following a mass food poisoning case involving 78 students on Monday.
The victims, 55 from MAN 1 Cianjur Islamic senior high school and 23 from SMP PGRI 1 Cianjur junior high school, reportedly showed symptoms after consuming meals from the government-run free nutritious meal program.
Cianjur Health Agency head Yusman Faisal said the KLB status enabled centralized and coordinated handling of the incident.
“Our medical team is conducting a thorough assessment of the cause and all parties involved,” Yusman said on Tuesday, as quoted by kompas.com .
He said all patients would receive comprehensive care until full recovery. Health workers at community health centers (Puskesmas) have also been instructed to collect data and monitor all students who ate the meals in coordination with the schools.
Samples from the kitchen and vomit of victims have been sent to the West Java Health Laboratory for testing.
Results are expected within one week, following an expedited request.
“ ly, results take two weeks, but we’ve requested a one-week turnaround. Thankfully, the provincial health agency has responded positively, so we hope to get the results soon,” Yusman said.
Most students have been discharged after observation, though five students from the Islamic high school and three from the junior high school remained hospitalized as of Tuesday. School officials are continuing to monitor affected students and keeping parents informed.
“We’re continuing to collect data on students sent to the Puskesmas and remain in close contact with their parents,” MAN 1 vice principal Rahman Jaenudi said.
“We’ve been receiving reports since last night and are still in active communication with parents,” SMP PGRI 1 principal Rika Mustikawati said.