Sharjah: An 18-month-old toddler died on Thursday morning in a suspected case of food poisoning, Gulf News has learnt.
The toddler’s mother, who also suffered from continuous vomiting and dizziness, was treated at the Iranian Hospital in Dubai.
Sharjah Police are investigating the incident. The family is waiting for a post-mortem report.
The Pakistani family of three was rushed to a hospital in Dubai on Wednesday night after continuous vomiting and dizziness, Ahmad, the toddler’s father, told Gulf News.
The parents of 18-month-old Shiza Sohail Ahmad were horror-struck at how a home-cooked meal of beef and vegetables could have resulted in such terrible consequences for their only child.
“She had just started to walk, talk and play with us. I still cannot believe that she is no longer alive,” Ahmad said. Shiza, the couple’s only child, was born six years after Ahmad and his wife got married.
Ahmad said that he had bought the beef and vegetables from a supermarket that very day. His wife cooked the meal which the whole family had for dinner. But at around 11pm, Ahmad’s wife and daughter started vomiting.
Doctors at the hospital diagnosed the case as food poisoning and prescribed them medicines to stop the vomiting. The family was discharged from hospital the same day, Ahmad said.
However, the vomiting recurred once the family reached home around 3am. The toddler was taken to Al Qassimi Hospital in Sharjah but she passed away on Thursday morning.
“We miss her a lot. She was only one year, six months and eight days old,” Ahmad said.
The body will be transferred to a forensic laboratory for an autopsy. Shiza will be buried in Pakistan once all formalities have been completed.
With summer setting in, food poisoning cases have begun rising. Doctors at Al Qassimi Hospital have urged residents to be careful of consuming frozen foods.
