580 school pupils poisoned by chicken sandwiches in Bolivia

More than 580 children have suffered food poisoning after being given chicken sandwiches for breakfast at a school in northern Bolivia. Ambulances took the youngsters to hospitals in the city of Cobija after they fell ill with stomach pains and nausea. Hospital staff struggled to cope as hundreds of pupils arrived from Antonio Vaca Diez school. One nine-year-old girl is in intensive care, and 11 other pupils are being kept in for observation.

Unfortunately, there is a lack of responsibility in the schools that don’t regulate the school breakfast. Bad things can happen and kids can die and nobody says anything - it’s the last straw.

The father of one of the children

One pupil said: “The students were vomiting, at first we had headaches and we were nauseous and we were vomiting.” Authorities said the sandwiches, which also contained mayonnaise and tomato ketchup, have been taken away for analysis. The school has stopped serving food while the investigation takes place.

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