35 Catholic High students fall ill with gastroenteritis after school camp

SINGAPORE: Thirty-five Primary 5 students and two staff members from Catholic High School (Primary) developed gastroenteritis symptoms after a school camp earlier this week.  
None of them were hospitalised, said the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) in a joint statement on Thursday (Aug 29).
The school camp was conducted at the Ministry of Education’s Labrador Outdoor Adventure Centre from Monday to Wednesday.
On Tuesday afternoon, the school sent a text message to parents informing them that “a number of pupils at the P5 camp have been experiencing stomach upset from this morning”. 
In the message seen by CNA, the school said pupils were promptly attended to by employees at the camp, and that parents of those affected had been contacted. 
A check was conducted with the cohort, and most of them were well. 
The school said it also worked with the campsite to disinfect the premises and would monitor the situation closely.
MOH and SFA said they are investigating the incident. 
All affected students and staff were monitored at the sick bay.
“On day two, when I woke up, I heard a lot of people went to the sick bay because they got sick with fever, diarrhoea, vomiting,” said Catholic High School (Primary) student Brendan Law. 
“By the end of the day, a lot of people were in the sick bay.”
CNA understands that the caterer for the camp was also involved in a food poisoning incident in February, when Northbrooks Secondary students fell ill during a school camp.
The caterer declined to comment, citing the ongoing SFA investigation.
The Outdoor Learning and Adventure Education Association, which represents outdoor education organisers, said the incident could be caused by a range of reasons such as students serving food to their peers, a common practice in such camps to teach them about stewardship.
“We can’t rule out that there is a risk of a student having a pre-existing condition, like having stomach flu or having some sort of virus or bacteria, so that there is a risk of them contaminating the food,” said Mr Delane Lim, secretary-general of the association.
“It may not be the food being contaminated. It’s probably how the food is being handled during the process of serving. We can’t rule out that.”
Catholic High told CNA that it arranged for a different caterer after the incident as a precaution.
As of Thursday, most of the affected students and staff members have recovered and returned to school.
Food safety is a joint responsibility, said MOH and SFA.
“While SFA puts in place and enforces the regulatory measures, food operators must play their part by adhering to good food safety practices. SFA will not hesitate to take enforcement action against errant food operators,” they added.