20 people treated for food poisoning in Anbar’s Al-Karma district

ANBAR — The Anbar Health Directorate announced on Wednesday that 20 people, the majority of them children, have been treated after suffering from severe food poisoning during a social event in the Al-Karma district.

“The emergency department at Al-Karma Maternity and Emergency Hospital successfully treated twenty cases of food poisoning early this morning,” the health directorate said in a statement.

Among the affected were 12 children and 8 women from the Al-Jazeera area of Al-Karma district.

Dr. Naba Ahmed Mohammed, an emergency physician at the hospital, described the condition of the patients upon arrival, “All the patients arrived with symptoms of acute food poisoning, including severe nausea, vomiting, and neurological convulsions. The situation required an immediate response, so we called in Pediatrician Dr. Safa Abdul Salam Al-Jumaili and Resident Doctors’ Chief Dr. Mohammed Kamel, along with the hospital’s medical and healthcare teams.”

She added: “We administered all necessary first aid and treatments tailored for such critical cases.”

he Anbar Health Directorate emphasized the importance of adhering to food safety standards, especially during large gatherings, to prevent similar incidents in the future.

Food poisoning incidents in Iraq are often linked to contaminated food and poor hygiene standards in restaurants and catering at social events.

In June last year, the Diyala Health Directorate announced the closure of a restaurant and the arrest of its owner following a food poisoning outbreak that affected 70 people in the Mansouriya district, northeast of Diyala.

Weeks later, Harir District’s public hospital in Erbil reported nearly 200 cases of food poisoning, with children making up the majority of patients, during the Eid Al-Adha holidays. The surge was primarily linked to high summer temperatures and the consumption of spoiled food.