Mass Food Poisoning in Tashkent Kindergartens Leaves 182 Children Hospitalized

As of the morning of Sunday, 28 September, 182 children in the Tashkent region are still receiving medical care following a mass food poisoning incident that affected several state-run kindergartens.

The update was provided by Nurmat Atabekov, First Deputy Chairman of the Committee for Sanitary and Epidemiological Well-Being and Public Health under the Ministry of Health of Uzbekistan, The Caspian Post reports, citing Uzbek media.

The poisoning occurred on 24 September. According to Atabekov, an investigation revealed that all affected children were diagnosed with acute gastroenteritis. In total, more than 960 children were hospitalized.

He noted that the illness typically lasts two to three days and resolves quickly with proper treatment. Many children are gradually recovering and being discharged. Even among patients with moderate symptoms, improvements have been recorded. No severe cases have been reported.

“The most important thing is that the treatment of all children is under government supervision. The recovery trend remains positive,” Atabekov stressed.

As part of a criminal case launched under charges of violating sanitary regulations, seven people have been detained.

Among them are three officials from Shark Milk Product, the company that produced the dairy products, as well as representatives of three outsourcing companies that supplied food to the kindergartens.