‘Gastro, not poisoning, hit soldiers’

GASTROENTERITIS was possibly behind the stomach complaints suffered by eight National Guard commandos on Easter Sunday, the Health Minister announced yesterday.

The first results of the Health Ministry’s investigation yesterday indicated that the bug was possibly behind the sickness the commandos and their family members, who were at the Easter celebration of the Stavrovouni army camp last Sunday.

Minister Charis Charalambous stressed that the initial findings did not show that the commandos had been affected by food poisoning. But he added that the foodstuff that had been consumed was being examined, and so was the camp’s catering services and drinking water.

“With the exception of one incident, we have not had any visits to the hospital’s Emergency Rooms from gastroenteritis,” Charalambous said.

“At first view, it appears it was gastroenteritis. But it wasn’t a mass phenomenon and we’ve deducted this from the fact that out of 1,600 that had eaten the same food there, one person went to hospital.

“We find it difficult to believe that there was mass food poisonings”, said Charalambous, adding that the incident was “of medium seriousness”.

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