UAE | Health

Two-year-old boy dies of suspected food poisoning

A doctor has warned residents to be careful while eating home-cooked food that has been refrigerated for a long time after a two and-a-half-year-old boy died of suspected food poisoning.

  • By Sunita Menon, Staff Reporter
  • Published: 07:47 July 21, 2009
  • Gulf News

Dubai: A doctor has warned residents to be careful while eating home-cooked food that has been refrigerated for a long time after a two and-a-half-year-old boy died of suspected food poisoning.

Rishad Pranav, an Indian, died at the Rafa polyclinic on July 16 while his mother was also being treated for suspected food poisoning.

The family had eaten re-heated home cooked food of rice and gram that was kept refrigerated.

The case is being investigated by the Dubai police and the body has been sent to Al Wasl hospital. The health condition of his mother, who is receiving treatment at Dubai hospital, is said to be stable.

Rishab had accompanied his parents to the polyclinic on Thursday morning because his mother Barkha had been vomiting and her condition was critical.

While the nurse was in the process of getting medical help for the mother she was informed by the parents that Rishab too had vomited about six times.

The nurse advised the parents to get immediate medical attention for the child and informed Dr Sayed P.M.M, medical director of Dr Moopen's Group and a pediatrician at the Rafa polyclinic.

"Rishab started passing loose stools. I attended to him and found him wheezing. The boy looked dehydrated as well so I asked the nurse to administer IV fluid, oxygen and nebulizer," said Dr Sayed.

A couple of minutes later Dr Sayed heard the nurse rushing to his room calling out loudly that she was unable to find a pulse.

"We could not do anything. In my opinion Rishab died most likely of cardiac arrest as a result of food poisoning and repeated vomiting. I suspect that the child must have experienced an electrolyte imbalance in his body," said Dr Sayed.

The polyclinic notified the police and treatment prescribed by Dr Sayed was handed over to them.

The mother who had fluctuating blood pressure was put on a drip and was moved to Dubai hospital for treatment.

Two children, Nathan and Chelsea D'Souza, recently died of suspected food poisoning soon after eating a take-away meal. While the health authorities blamed the hospital for negligence, the cause of death has not been made public.

Are you concerned about food poisoning at home? What precautions are you going to take with home-cooked food after reading this news?

Your comments


Parents should learn a lesson by this. Many working parents throughout cook a weeks or more food in advance and refrigerate it. which is very dangerous not for you but for your children as well
Vaseem
Dubai,UAE
Posted: July 22, 2009, 13:50

The weather is hot and humid; under these conditions the safe thing to do is: 1)cook less, 2) toss away or give away leftover food, freeze leftovers and heat in microwave only. Food should never be left outside on the counter. Simple common sense will keep people healthy. Additionally, I would suggest to eat mostly fresh fruits and salads that need no cooking and are healthier than heavy greasy, protein containing foods. It is unfortunate to hear incidents like this happen. More common sense awareness campaigns would help reduce these problems.
Judith
Dubai,UAE
Posted: July 22, 2009, 13:29

The hygienic condition of many small restaurant were very poor and it is right time the health authority should check the cook medical fitness certificate and cleanliness/hygienic conditions.
Krish
Abu Dhabi,UAE
Posted: July 22, 2009, 13:09

Food poisoning is not a big deal, if the doctors are well equipped and very active to deal in this type of emergency cases, not by simply ordering other nurses to do their work. most of the time this type of carelessness is seen in several hospitals and it is common for them. you are in this field and you should be very aggressive. if every doctor and related staff do their duty properly, I hope this type of small mistake will not cause death.
Ash
Dubai,UAE
Posted: July 22, 2009, 13:07

Don't just blame the parents, All the parents care about their children and I think 95% people keep the food in refrigerator.
Shareef
Dubai,UAE
Posted: July 22, 2009, 13:00

The hospitals must be well equipped to handle such cases and the doctors should be ready to handle such cases as it's happening quite regularly. Also I request to all parents to avoid eating ready to cook, or half cooked food, or to eat at any road side restaurants. Also the health departments should conduct some awareness programmes to make aware people for such care .
Manoj Kumar Gurnani
Dubai,UAE
Posted: July 22, 2009, 12:50

I think now authorities should check all the malls where ready foods are sold so that in future we can avoid any such incidents and all of us should be more conscious about our foods.
John Kurian
Abu Dhabi,UAE
Posted: July 22, 2009, 12:32

I prefer to eat only freshly cooked foods preferably vegetable foods. Try to avoid the maximum non-vegetarian foods from outside. Mainly the present climate is not good.
Prakash
Abu Dhabi,UAE
Posted: July 22, 2009, 12:31

In the country like UAE where we have the extreme summer climate, parents need to be double confident before giving ready or refridgerated food. Our sympathies with Rishab's parents.
D. Padma
Visakhapatnam,India
Posted: July 22, 2009, 12:06

Dehydration is one of the main cause of death in pediatrics all over the world. All the parents should be aware to give the correct supplements and minerals for their kids after diarrhea and vomiting. since also they loose too much potassium. Banana is a good supplement for potassium. Fluids should also be given.
Mohammad Halas
Dubai,UAE
Posted: July 22, 2009, 11:25

authorities should provide more information about how to avoid cases like this. I am from cold climate country. And I feel that I have no knowledge about food in hot climate.
Andrius
Dubai,UAE
Posted: July 22, 2009, 11:12

Well no point fretting or pointing fingers at anyone, what was destined to happen has happened. May the Almighty bless the child!
Hina Nisar
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: July 22, 2009, 10:51

I wonder if it's the food itself to blame for all these poisoning cases. I mean, is there anything common between these two cases except the food itself? Takeaway, and now reheated. One thing comes to mind: storage container. Where the food was kept when it was put in refrigerator and the one that was delivered? Maybe the aluminum foil or plastic food containers are potentially unsafe. I eat reheated/takeaway food all the time, sometimes when the job consumes all my time, I can reheat the same dish for like 3-4 days, and I've never suffered from any kind of food poisoning, maybe because I never use those disposable food containers? Who knows...
Mike
Dubai,UAE
Posted: July 22, 2009, 10:44

It's fully careless of the clinic. The clinic should have extra services for such cases. I believe the doctors not yet prepared for emergency cases.
Sadik
Dubai,UAE
Posted: July 22, 2009, 10:40

Public awareness and proper public education should be initiated in this kind of situations. It is just so sad that little kids are victims of these bad practices.
Levin Christine Putong
Dubai,UAE
Posted: July 22, 2009, 10:32

I think this should be a wake up call for the health authorities as cases related to doctors negligence has been on a rise and some serious steps need to be taken ASAP to ensure that doctors who are practising know what they are doing!!
Sam
Dubai,UAE
Posted: July 22, 2009, 10:26

Stop eating refrigerated food, many people do, because nobody wants to cook 3 times a day.
Hassan Mirza
Abu Dhabi,UAE
Posted: July 22, 2009, 10:22

Parents too should be careful. The moment your child vomits more than twice, you should immediately start giving your child fluids. A simple solution of drinking water - 1 glass, pinch of salt and teaspoon of sugar to drink. Make arrangements to see a doctor.
Sunita
Dubai,UAE
Posted: July 22, 2009, 09:48

It is always better to avoid eating cooked food that has been refrigerated.
Ashok
Dubai,UAE
Posted: July 22, 2009, 09:39

I think there is need to make awareness in public to use refrigerated foods, and people try to use fresh foods, but if you want to use refrigerated food then use only one time.
Asif Shahzad
Abu Dhabi,UAE
Posted: July 22, 2009, 09:37

I dont think you can blame the parents in either case. There is nothing wrong with re-heated food. Bacteria forms only if food is left to stand for long periods of time without refrigeration. Also, re-heating a large quantity and then repeating the process increases bacteria activity on the surface of food. At a time like this pointing fingers on the parents does them no good so please be considerate, because they did all they could to help their poor offspring.
Nasha Taraporewala
Dubai,UAE
Posted: July 22, 2009, 09:37

There are rapid cases now of food poisoning but hospital cannot even save the victims, i have 2 kids aged 5
Fel
Abu Dhabi,UAE
Posted: July 22, 2009, 09:33

Every parent should follow hygenic eating practices, like eating freshly cooked food only, even if it takes an extra effort to do it all the time-- Health is Wealth. More so, eating outside should be restricted during summers as chances of contamination are very very high and food tends to get spoiled easily in hot'n'humid weather. Try keeping a peace of bread in a non a/c room, it will catch fungus within 6 hours. One should practice healthy eating habits.
Sumit
Abu Dhabi,UAE
Posted: July 22, 2009, 09:10

The medical sector is getting worse day by day . When will the doctors learn how to treat patients of these basic symtoms. Are the doctors only there for collecting fees and then collecting points to renew their licences. I feel even the health sector should have a black point system for the number of deaths they are involved in.. similar to a drivers license system..
Bruno Britto
Dubai,UAE
Posted: July 22, 2009, 08:44

I think the situation is too critical now and the weather is getting more worse, actually while inspection was going on regarding the D'souzas daughter and son died and i was daily following the news to know what's new, my husband got poisoned from a restaurant before 3 weeks, and he was admitted to hospital for two days. the poisoning start to show after he ate his meal by 3-4 hours. We don't know what to eat now, if at home its risky and outside its risky? What solutions do you have.
Myrna
Abu Dhabi,UAE
Posted: July 22, 2009, 08:36

These days we should be careful about health especially food, climate is also not good little bit mistake can be dangerous.
Mohammad Asim
Dubai,UAE
Posted: July 22, 2009, 08:31

When we buy food items from the market we should check it's quality and expiry dates. Secondly we should take care that the food is properly cooked and take utmost care if it is to be stored for longer time in the fridge.We have to take care of ourselves to eliminate such problems to some extent. It is in our hands which food to eat and which not. Spreading public awareness can reduce such incidents. Very sorry to hear the news again on the same subject.
Alex
Dubai,UAE
Posted: July 22, 2009, 08:22

My deep condolences to the parents of rishab. parents should be extra cautious about their kids.
Tayyeba
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: July 22, 2009, 08:12

People of present day have become lazy to cook on a daily basis. If they prepare fresh food everyday, the possibility of food poisoning will be little. Cooking in bulk quantity and keeping inside the fridge for a week can easily spoil the food and result in sickness.
R.N.
Abu Dhabi,UAE
Posted: July 22, 2009, 08:03

I think its responsible of the parents, they should be aware of what kind of food they are serving to their childrens. Its better to prepare the fresh food everytime.
Shafi
Dubai,UAE
Posted: July 22, 2009, 07:41

Leftover food should only be eaten again the following day and after it was kept refrigerated. And reheating should reach the boiling point to avoid food borne illness. Some type of food like poultry and dairy should be handled much carefully specially when it stayed in a room temp condition too long, but what is too long? Parents should know that and must spend time reading health care tips and articles like that rather than saving money in eating leftover food that stayed in the fridge for a very long time. Sniffing leftover food or investigating it by your naked eye won't help in determining the presence of an unwanted bacteria. Parents should be extra careful. Cooked food should either be cold or hot! room temp is only allowed in a very short time.
Rwan
Dubai,UAE
Posted: July 22, 2009, 02:09

I agree with Ms Maria that hospitals should be well equipped to handle such cases also the doctors should be ready to handle such cases.
Laila
Abu Dhabi,UAE
Posted: July 21, 2009, 17:09

I hope someone reads this news, who can act hard upon the situation to make sure that it should not repeat again. My deepest condolence is with the parents to bear the pain. I request the health ministry to look after the case, as it is repeating again and again. Hospitals and clinics need to provide the services. Every time this incident repeats, I feel like I lost someone I loved. If I am feeling this then what could be the feelings of the family members. Does anyone care about it?
Naresh Kumar Devra
Dubai,UAE
Posted: July 21, 2009, 17:05

I think public awareness should be started on what type of foods are bad
Mustafa Shabbir
Abu Dhabi,U.A.E.
Posted: July 21, 2009, 16:56

Very Sad, Parents should be more careful about small kids..
prasanna
Dubai,UAE
Posted: July 21, 2009, 14:17

I don't think its the mistake of the parents. Till now no authorities have confirmed the actual reason for the sad demise of the child. So let's not blame the parents and wait for the actual reason for the incident.
Ganesh
Dubai,UAE
Posted: July 21, 2009, 13:48

Again an innocent one, the case of food poisoning is all around and its high time that together parents and our distinguished authorities take responsibility creating strict awareness among many. We cannot lose lives like this....my condolences to the family.
Leja
Abu Dhabi,UAE
Posted: July 21, 2009, 13:28

So let me get this right, the mother sought medical treatment because she was vomiting and she let her child, although he was also sick, just sit there and watch her until a nurse advised her to get treatment for her child, too? Incomprehensible.
A Reader
Dubai,UAE
Posted: July 21, 2009, 13:14

Random food inspections are required.
Thomas
Dubai,UAE
Posted: July 21, 2009, 12:49

All parents shall aware of the re-heating of food, and any suspected in smelling or tasting the food, do not allow for children to eat.
Farooq
Abu Dhabi,UAE
Posted: July 21, 2009, 12:37

I think the quality and response procedures of private hospitals needs to be questioned.
Felix
Dubai,UAE
Posted: July 21, 2009, 12:23

I would say that parents need to take additional care. Why cant they prepare fresh food for the kids? Left overs should never be given to kids.
Charu
Dubai,UAE
Posted: July 21, 2009, 12:07

Very sad.this should not happen.the child should be given equal attention at all times.
Nithyananda Beskoor
Dubai,UAE
Posted: July 21, 2009, 11:56

History repeats itself!! I can't believe food poisoning has struck again; this time the food in question is homemade food, what is happening? Parents should be more careful when they heat food and give young children, they do not have the stamina to fight the bacteria generated from spoilt food. It will be advisable for parents not to give reheated food to children as we all have witnessed two unfortunate incidents so far. My condolences to both the families.
Staicy Simon
Dubai,UAE
Posted: July 21, 2009, 11:53

The parents should take utmost care while the symptoms of vomiting and any abnormality persists with the kids and should loose no minute to rush them to the nearest well equipped hospital. The MOH should publish a General circular in all leading newspapers / bill boards at the malls, detailing what first aid should be administered in the eventuality of suspected food-positioning, as a result of consuming adulterated food. Such measures will go a long way to save the invaluable life these little buds.
Venkat.S.
Dubai,UAE
Posted: July 21, 2009, 11:10

I think the hospitals / clinics need to be more prepared to handle these kind of cases.
Maria
Dubai,UAE
Posted: July 21, 2009, 10:53

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