The Governor of Tokat in Türkiye, Abdullah Koklu, reported that about 5,000 people resorted to hospitals seeking treatment, after suffering from sudden symptoms that included nausea and vomiting.
The relevant authorities opened an investigation following an increase in hospital admissions in the city center, as of last Friday evening, after some citizens complained that they had sudden illness symptoms, including nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and diarrhea, according to the local “Birgun” website.
Governor Koklo visited the patients receiving treatment at Tokat Governmental Hospital and reviewed their health conditions. In a statement to reporters after the visit, he stated that the patients were in good health.
“We have received about 5,000 applications so far,” the governor said, “and of those, nearly 70 patients required inpatient hospitalization, and 40 of them have been discharged; As a result, we currently have about 30 patients receiving care,” he explained. “Of course, not all of these 30 patients are here; This number includes patients in the university hospital and private sector facilities. Their condition is not critical, and we hope that they will recover through fluid replacement therapy.”
"As you know, this condition is usually referred to as an intestinal infection, and when talking about intestinal infections, our thoughts naturally turn first to water and food," Koklu added. "We have previously issued warnings and also sent samples to the Ministry of Health in Ankara to determine whether it is related to water sources."
The Tokat Governor stated: “We are expected to receive information in this regard either late tomorrow or on Wednesday. However, in the meantime, we advise you to exercise caution regarding water and food as a precaution.”
Referring to the warnings he issued regarding the consumption of boiling tap water, Kuklo said: “We continue to work in coordination with the municipality; All water tanks underwent a thorough inspection over the weekend, and at this time, we do not know whether the problem was caused by water, but it would be wrong to attribute it to the water supply network.”
The governor continued: “I believe that we will reach a more accurate conclusion as soon as the results of the tests are received from the Ministry of Health and the General Directorate of Public Health to our governorate. As you know, viruses, diseases and germs are easily transmitted through water and food. “This is the basis on which our warnings are based: we must pay great attention to hygiene with regard to our water and our food.”
Kuklo revealed that a comprehensive sterilization process was carried out in all schools and our public institutions in the central region of the governorate, to eliminate the risk of disease transmission. But since these cleaning operations could not be carried out effectively in the presence of students, classes were suspended for one day.
