Two children have died in a suspected food poisoning incident at Msintsi Location near Ntabozuko outside East London.
Five others were taken to hospital.
According to the provincial health department, seven boys aged between two and six were admitted to Cecilia Makiwane Hospital on Friday at about 1pm after presenting with symptoms including weakness, vomiting, diarrhoea and dizziness.
Two of the children died.
Four of the other children were treated and discharged, while one remains in hospital.
Provincial health spokesperson Camagwini Mavovana said the child was receiving specialised critical care at Frere Hospital in Mdantsane.
“Following the incident, the department of health immediately activated its emergency clinical and outbreak response protocols,” she said.
“The Buffalo City Metro health district outbreak response and environmental health teams were deployed to work alongside clinical staff and hospital management at Cecilia Makiwane Hospital.”
Mavovana said senior health officials, including the acting chief executive of the hospital and the deputy director-general for clinical services, were on site to oversee and co-ordinate the response.
“As part of the investigation, clinical specimens have been collected to help determine the cause of the illness.
“Postmortem examinations will also be conducted on the two deceased children to establish the exact cause of death,” Mavovana said.
Health response teams also conducted site visits in Msintsi, where they met the affected families, the ward councillor and ward committee members.
“A detailed history obtained during the visits indicated that the children had consumed various food items, including instant porridge, rice, chips and sweets, prior to falling ill.
“Food samples have since been collected and sent for laboratory testing,” she said.
Mavovana said in the interest of public safety, environmental health practitioners had instructed a spaza shop in the area to temporarily close pending a formal inspection.
“We are working closely with the South African Police Service and the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality as part of a co-ordinated multi-sectoral investigation into the incident.
“The department continues to provide clinical care, environmental health services and psychosocial support to the affected families,” the health department said in a statement.
Mavovana said ongoing monitoring and follow-up visits within the community would continue while investigations were under way.
The department extended condolences to the bereaved families and assured the public that every effort was being made to identify the source of the incident and to safeguard the health and wellbeing of the community, she said.
Buffalo City mayor Princess Faku visited the families on Sunday.
She emphasised the importance of community awareness and vigilance to prevent similar tragedies.
“We are deeply saddened by this heartbreaking incident.
“As BCMM, we are mourning with the families and with all those whose children are still in hospital. We wish the children a speedy and full recovery.
“It is so unfortunate that we find ourselves in this situation again,” she said.
“We call that the spaza shops must be inspected, a thorough inspection with all stakeholders involved.”
Faku said the children were very young to die so tragically.
“This is tragic and you can see that very young mothers have experienced this.
“They [mothers] are both unemployed. One death is one too many, this must not happen again.”
The parents of Tobeka Dontyile, five, said their son had started throwing up and experiencing diarrhoea on Saturday.