5-year-old boy's death linked to Salmonella bacteria

The death of five-year-old Muhammad Iqbal Rafie Mohd Ilme, who had died while being taken to seek treatment at a hospital, was revealed to have been caused by the Salmonella bacteria.

The same bacteria that also claimed the lives of four people in Kedah last October.

The cause of death had been confirmed by the State Health Department.

“He had suffered acute dehydration, he had been vomiting and had diarrhoea since March 1 after consuming food which had been bought at the night market in Kuala Terengganu,” said State Health director Datuk Dr Anwa Sulaiman.

68 other victims are still being treated at the Sultanah Nur Zahirah Hospital.

From that number, 18 of them are children.

The State Department had also confirmed that the victims fell ill after consuming four types of food which was sold at the Dataran Syahbandar night market between February 28 and March 1.

“All the victims had consumed these four types of food which was sold at the Dataran Syahbandar or Padang Hiliran night market which included white fried rice, red fried rice, fried kuey tioe and fried noodles,” he said.

He has also urged all clinics to view food poisoning symptoms seriously especially during the unusually long dry season.