"What Did They Feed Them That a Healthy Child Needs Dialysis?" Ansan Kindergarten Group Food Poisoning... Parents' Outrage

Photo by Cheongwadae National Petition Board capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ga-yeon] Amid multiple children showing symptoms of mass food poisoning at a kindergarten in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, a petition post presumed to have been written by a parent of a student attending the kindergarten has been posted, sparking expected controversy.

On the 25th, a post titled "The Kindergarten That Caused OOO Disease and Was Audited for Corruption Two Years Ago" was uploaded on the Blue House National Petition Board.

The petitioner, who introduced herself as a mother of a 5-year-old child, said, "While my child was attending kindergarten and spending peaceful weekends, the child suddenly complained of abdominal pain," adding, "At first, I didn’t think much of it, but as the whining continued, I realized it was serious and rushed to the hospital."

She continued, "The hospital diagnosed the child with hemorrhagic colitis syndrome," and said, "I was shocked by the unknown cause of the disease. However, the number of students showing the same symptoms began to increase."

She added, "The children started passing bloody stools, and unknown sticky mucus was also found in their stools. Some children became unable to even urinate, leading to dialysis treatment. Through the health center, we found out that the cause was the kindergarten," and lamented, "Currently, among the 184 students attending this kindergarten, 99 are showing symptoms of vomiting, diarrhea, and bloody stools. Some children are even showing symptoms of hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), also known as hamburger disease."

The petitioner expressed, "I was filled with anger. What kind of food, or what spoiled food, could cause a healthy child’s body to require dialysis?" and criticized, "Even in this situation, the kindergarten suspects the food sold at the weekly market in front of the apartment. The kindergarten principal asks for forgiveness in front but only looks for excuses to evade responsibility and shift blame."

Afternoon of the 25th, exterior view of Kindergarten A located in Ansan City / Photo by Yonhap News

She stated, "This kindergarten was audited in 2018 for using a total of 84 million and 2.9 billion won for personal expenses unrelated to education, such as meals," and questioned, "Would such a kindergarten have served proper food this time?"

She urged public attention, saying, "We just sent our children to kindergarten, but now they are passing bloody stools and undergoing dialysis. I want to expose the shameless kindergarten principal who has a history of embezzling hundreds of millions in personal expenses. Please support us a lot."

Finally, the petitioner added, "Mom is sorry. If only I hadn’t sent you to that kindergarten."

Meanwhile, according to Gyeonggi Province health authorities on the 25th, since the first report of mass diarrhea and other food poisoning incidents at the kindergarten on the 16th, a total of 100 symptomatic food poisoning cases have occurred.

The health authorities have collected samples from 202 people, including 184 students and 18 staff members, conducting a full investigation and epidemiological survey along with quarantine measures.

So far, hemorrhagic Escherichia coli has been detected in 42 students and 1 teacher. Results for 96 people are still pending.

Thirty-one people have been hospitalized, among whom 14 are suspected of showing symptoms of hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS, also known as hamburger disease), a complication caused by hemorrhagic Escherichia coli. Of these, 5 are reported to be receiving dialysis treatment due to deteriorated kidney function.

The kindergarten has been ordered to close from the 19th until the 30th.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.