Over 50 Children Fall Sick After School Serves Food With Dead Snake

Children from a school in India fell sick after consuming food that was allegedly cooked with a baby snake.

The incident took place in Vishwaradhya Vidyavardhaka Residential School in the Yadagir district of Karnataka, India. A snake had reportedly crawled into a large pot the school uses to cook breakfast. About 60 students were served breakfast from the pot Thursday. School staff discovered the reptile while serving the food, according to Deccan Herald.

Five students complained about feeling nauseous immediately after consuming the food. Soon after, 45 more students, who had begun eating the food fell ill. The children became drowsy and started vomiting.

A panicked staff rushed the students to Primary Health Centre at Madnal for initial treatment. Later, they were shifted to a hospital. Three students were admitted to the intensive care unit. All the children are out of danger and were sent back to the school hostel after treatment.

The health officer of the district, Hanumanth Reddy, visited the children at the hospital and inquired about the incident, the New India Express reported. Cops are investigating the matter.

According to a 2010 study, consuming reptiles in any form increases health risk as they carry a large number of bacteria and parasites. It can also lead to intoxication by biotoxins.

"The clearest microbiological risk comes from the possible presence of pathogenic bacteria, especially Salmonella," Simone Magnino, lead author of the study and a researcher for the World Health Organization (WHO) was quoted as saying by Science Daily. The study listed several other bacterias that "cause illnesses of varying degrees of severity."

Last year, 50 people, including 20 children, suffered food poisoning at a community feast in Odisha, India, after consuming food from a container that had a dead snake inside. Immediately after eating the food, many villagers began vomiting, while others complained about severe abdominal pain and nausea, the New India Express reported. The doctor confirmed that the villagers did not have any symptoms of venom poisoning.

In August, a 14-year-old boy killed a snake by chewing it after the reptile bit him. The boy died after his family took him to an occultist instead of a hospital.