Editor,I would like to respond to your headline in yesterday’s issue, which read, ‘Over 200 hospitalised after food poisoning’. The headline is misleading though the body of the story is fine. The truth is that 54 people were hospitalised in the District hospital and another 17 were admitted in the nearby health centre. Therefore, the figure is not as big as 200 like your headline suggests.In addition, of the 54 admitted at the district hospital 25 have so far been discharged (by midday, yesterday) and the remaining should be discharged today as they are in a stable situation.Also, the Ministry of Health (MoH) is carrying out lab tests on the food samples to ascertain the actual cause of this poisoning.This is a sad story that should re-emphasize our message on good hygiene in public places. We do not need partners to teach us how to be clean – it’s something we can do by ourselves. With proper hygiene in our midst, we will certainly save millions of francs we spend on dealing with poor-hygiene related diseases such as diarrhoea.Arthur AsiimweHealth Communication Centre
