Some
Sri Lankan maids working in Jordan have jumped out of frying pan into
the fire: Dozens of Sri Lankan domestic helpers taking refuge at their
embassy were hospitalized on Saturday with symptoms of food poisoning
after eating lunch prepared on the embassy’s premises, Minister of
Health Abdul Latif Wreikat said.
Wreikat told The Jordan Times that 126 Sri Lankans, out of 246 who frequently eat meals prepared in the basement of the Sri Lankan embassy, had been admitted to public hospitals suffering from symptoms such as vomiting and diarrhoea.
“Three cases were admitted into intensive care units: a woman with diabetes, a pregnant woman and one with chronic asthma,” the minister said, adding that the ministry took samples from the embassy’s water tanks as well as the food the patients had eaten for testing.
Samples were also sent to the Public Security Department’s Criminal Investigation Department to check whether the poisoning may have been deliberate, Wreikat said, adding that the illness appears to have been caused by bacteria or the Salmonella virus.
The domestic helpers have been staying at their embassy for months after fleeing their workplaces due to unpaid salaries, physical abuse or homesickness, according to embassy officials.
The Civil Defense Department said in a statement that its paramedics had responded to a call at the embassy and administered first aid to more than 120 domestic helpers before taking them to nearby hospitals for further care.
Jordan Food and Drug Administration (JFDA) investigators also rushed to the location to identify the cause of the food poisoning, Mohammad Khreisha, head of the JFDA’s Food Directorate, told The Jordan Times.
“Our investigative team visited the embassy in order to identify the cause and take preventive measures to address the problem. Our fear was that the cause could be of a chemical nature, but the investigators concluded that it was due to a possible bacterial infection,” Khreisha said.
Embassy officials were unavailable for comment.
In previous statements to the Jordan Times, embassy officials said they were accommodating more than 120 Sri Lankan helpers who had run away from their employers and that they were working with Jordanian authorities to address their complaints and repatriate them after fulfilling any financial obligations to their employers and recruitment agencies.
Source: Jordanian Times
Wreikat told The Jordan Times that 126 Sri Lankans, out of 246 who frequently eat meals prepared in the basement of the Sri Lankan embassy, had been admitted to public hospitals suffering from symptoms such as vomiting and diarrhoea.
“Three cases were admitted into intensive care units: a woman with diabetes, a pregnant woman and one with chronic asthma,” the minister said, adding that the ministry took samples from the embassy’s water tanks as well as the food the patients had eaten for testing.
Samples were also sent to the Public Security Department’s Criminal Investigation Department to check whether the poisoning may have been deliberate, Wreikat said, adding that the illness appears to have been caused by bacteria or the Salmonella virus.
The domestic helpers have been staying at their embassy for months after fleeing their workplaces due to unpaid salaries, physical abuse or homesickness, according to embassy officials.
The Civil Defense Department said in a statement that its paramedics had responded to a call at the embassy and administered first aid to more than 120 domestic helpers before taking them to nearby hospitals for further care.
Jordan Food and Drug Administration (JFDA) investigators also rushed to the location to identify the cause of the food poisoning, Mohammad Khreisha, head of the JFDA’s Food Directorate, told The Jordan Times.
“Our investigative team visited the embassy in order to identify the cause and take preventive measures to address the problem. Our fear was that the cause could be of a chemical nature, but the investigators concluded that it was due to a possible bacterial infection,” Khreisha said.
Embassy officials were unavailable for comment.
In previous statements to the Jordan Times, embassy officials said they were accommodating more than 120 Sri Lankan helpers who had run away from their employers and that they were working with Jordanian authorities to address their complaints and repatriate them after fulfilling any financial obligations to their employers and recruitment agencies.
Source: Jordanian Times
0 comments:
Post a Comment