13 Chechen children hospitalized with severe chemical poisoning

It was originally believed that the children suffered from a group food poisoning

Thirteen children have been hospitalized with food poisoning in Chechnya during the latest 24 hours. Four children were staying in severe condition, doctors said. The latest incident in Chechnya followed the previous hospitalization of another group of children. All the patients, majority of them girls, have similar symptoms: fatigue, asphyxia and headache.

Specialists have not yet identified the type of poison, which affected the schoolchildren. “A toxicological examination of the patients is required to diagnose the disease,” a Chechen doctor said.

Massive outbreaks of similar diseases have been registered in the same region of the Chechen Republic three times during the past autumn. The symptoms in all of the three incidents were identical, local doctors said.

Thirteen schoolchildren and two teachers have been hospitalized in Chechnya's Grozny since December 16. Almost all patients were discharged by Monday, but they were replaced with another group of sick schoolchildren the same day, Interfax reports.

Specialists say that food was not the reason, which made such a massive outbreak of poisoning occur in Chechnya. None of the hospitalized children has eaten at the school canteen. In addition, the patients' symptoms show that the poisoning has been caused with toxic substances of neuroparalytic or psychotropic action.