SANTO DOMINIGO, Dominican Republic, CMC – A “dirty container” was used to prepare juice for farm workers resulting in as many as 26 Haitians, including two children, being hospitalised last Sunday, the Embassy of Haiti reported Tuesday.
“According to initial information, this incident was caused by the unconsciousness of an employee who prepared the juice served to these farm workers in a dirty container,” the Haitian Embassy said.
The director of the Taiwan Regional Hospital in Azua, Dr. Luis Edward Pérez, on Sunday, confirmed that at least 26 Haitian nationals had been hospitalised after drinking contaminated fruit juice on a farm in Pedernales.
The Embassy said that a few minutes after drinking the fruit juice the workers were transported by their employer to the Taiwan hospital.
It said that on the instructions of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, a delegation from the Consulate of Haiti in Barahona quickly went to the scene to provide consular assistance to the victims.
The regional hospital in Taiwan in Azua reported that the Haitians had been treated for symptoms of organophosphate poisoning, which is caused by the irreversible inhibition of acetylcholinesterase and the accumulation of acetylcholine, the Embassy added.
The Embassy said it is in contact with the Dominican Republic authorities as the investigations into the matter continue.
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