On a late Sunday afternoon in October 2023, Dipuo Zikhali (52) gave her six-year-old granddaughter, Olwethu, R5 to buy snacks. Olwethu and her friends, Leon Jele (6), Neo Kgang (4), and Katlego Mbatha (4) went to one of the many spaza shops scattered around their Soweto neighbourhood of Naledi where they bought biscuits and cola ice-pops.
Later that evening, all of the children complained of stomach pain.
“I remember that day as if it was yesterday. That night Olwethu could not sleep, she was crawling like a snake and complaining about pain in her stomach,” Dipuo tells Health-e News.
In a panic, she gave her an enema. When she started foaming at the mouth, her family rushed her to Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital where she was admitted to the intensive care unit.
That fateful evening
Nearby, at Neo and Katlego’s home, the little boys were also in discomfort. Their grandmother Mathotha Malgas (62) is visibly hurt as she narrates the events of that evening.
“On that day at around five pm, Neo went outside to play with his cousin, Katlego (4) and friends. He came inside around six pm.
“After their bath, we gave them supper. But Neo did not eat his food. At 10pm Katlego woke up complaining about stomach pains. He said he felt like vomiting but was struggling. An hour later Neo jumped from the bed with his eyes wide open,” says Mathota.
Neo couldn’t talk but they could see that he was in pain. Without putting her shoes on Mathota rushed Neo to a neighbour, who is a pastor, so that he could pray for him. The pastor suggested they take him to the Zola Clinic, five minutes away from their home.
“At this stage, I had forgotten about Katlego until my daughter remembered that we should not leave him behind. We drove to the clinic in the pastor’s car. I was sitting at the back holding Neo in my arms.
“By the time we reached the clinic, Neo was no longer breathing. He died on the way.”
Katlego was given a drip and later taken to Bheki Mlangeni District Hospital where he was operated on.
At Bara Hospital, Dipuo met Leon’s mother. “She told me her son had died,” she recalls. “I was shocked and scared for my granddaughter.”
Olwethu was on life support for almost two weeks.
Both she and Katlego survived. But Dipuo says Olwethu is not the same child as before. The now seven-year-old Olwethu “struggles to sleep, has nightmares, keeps asking about her friends and sometimes acts like a ‘mentally disturbed person’”.
What killed our babies?
In a yard shared with a now-closed spaza shop are four corrugated iron shacks. In one of the shacks, Mathotha sits on a plastic crate, holding back tears.
“It is like a wound that refuses to heal, especially because I still don’t know what killed Neo and his friend,” she says.
Neo and Leon died of suspected poisoning. Neo’s grandmother was told he might have died of plant poison, while Leon’s mother was told he could have died of rat poison. Dipuo says her family was told at the hospital that rat poison was behind the illnesses and deaths of the children.
The families could not get straight answers from the hospital and were told to wait for the post-mortem results – which are still pending a year later.
Six more children die in Naledi
A year later in October 2024, six more children died in Naledi, also after eating snacks bought from a local spaza shop. These deaths were swiftly investigated by the Department of Health. It worked with the National Institute of Communicable Diseases to investigate the cause, which was revealed to be a highly toxic agricultural pesticide Terbufos, that’s illegally sold on the street for domestic use. There is currently no evidence of the presence of the pesticide at spaza shops, but the investigation is ongoing.
The announcement brought little relief to Dipuo and Mothatho, who have not received any feedback from the Department of Health. “The parents of the six children have been given closure within a week. We have been waiting for a year for the post-mortem results,” says Dipuo.
All they want is to be afforded the dignity and knowledge of the official cause of death.
When Health-e News asked Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi when the families would be given a report, the response was: ‘The department was not aware that they had not received them’. Motsoaledi asked for the families’ contact details so the department could follow up. It’s unclear if the families will ever receive an official report.
Spate of food-related illnesses and deaths
South Africa has seen a spike in cases of food poisoning among children in recent years.
At the beginning of November a 38-year-old mother and her four-year-old son from Alexandra, Johannesburg were admitted to hospital for suspected foodborne illness. The woman’s 10-year-old daughter died on Saturday night, also of suspected food poisoning from eating snacks bought at a spaza shop.
In October, over 40 pupils in KwaZulu-Natal were hospitalised with suspected food poisoning after eating snacks bought from a vendor outside the school. In Mpumalanga, 24 pupils were rushed to hospital after eating snacks from a spaza shop. In Limpopo 33 pupils were rushed to hospital for suspected food poisoning.
In September the Gauteng health department reported that there were 207 food poisoning cases and 10 deaths as of February.
In February 324 pupils from Eastern Cape, Gauteng and Limpopo were diagnosed with food poisoning.
In 2023, 516 pupils from different schools in Gauteng, Eastern Cape, North West, Northern Cape and Eastern Cape were rushed to hospitals for suspected food poisoning.
While the children fell ill from food bought from various sources. Overwhelmingly, snacks bought from spaza shops have been cited as a serious cause for concern.
Suspected food poisoning can be reported to the South African Consumer Goods and Services Ombudsman at 0800 029 999.
According to the Department of Basic Education, in all cases this year the pupils are reported to have bought snacks from vendors and spaza shops in and around schools. In a statement issued by the education department, spokesperson Elijah Mhlanga says while the school has no control over the street vendors, the school community has to keep a database of people selling food and drinks near schools. – Health-e News
Source:
health-e.org.za
Source link
