Fourteen pupils from a public school near the city of Salt were admitted to hospital on Sunday after they fell ill with symptoms of food poisoning, medical sources said.
They said the students at the Al Deirah co-educational elementary school were suffering from abdominal pain after eating cake at the school's cafeteria. This was the latest case of mass poisoning at public schools.
Minister of Education Mohammad Thneibat called the Salt Government Hospital director, Dr. Musleh Abbadi, and was reassured that all the students were well and in a stable condition. However, he added, they had been put under observation for several hours and would be discharged after all necessary medical procedures were completed.
Abbadi said a Ministry of Health team of epidemiologists had been sent to the school to investigate the cases and determine the cause of poisoning.