Egyptian health ministry said 150 female students in the dormitory of Zagazig University in the Delta city of Sharqiya were hospitalised Friday afternoon and preliminary diagnosed with food poisoning, making it the third case within two months.
The ministry affirmed that there are no deaths among the students who were hospitalised following the incident.
In a varying account, the governor of Sharqiya Hassan El-Naggar said 120 students were hospitalised and only 30 of which were diagnosed with food poisoning, Egyptian state news agency MENA reported.
El-Naggar said the poisoning came from spoiled tuna, which was served to the students for lunch, adding that prosecutors have started investigating the case, Al-Ahram Arabic-language news website reported.
Head of Sharqiya hospitals Salem El-Deeb denied El-Naggar's account in a statement to Al-Ahram Arabic-language news website, saying that the university hospital records show that only 48 female students were admitted on Friday.
Prime Minister Hisham Qandil had reportedly phoned El-Naggar and requested that he be informed of immediate findings.
Zagazig University food poisoning incident is the third of its kind after two incidents at Cairo's Al-Azhar University within the past weeks.
On 1 April, over 500 Al-Azhar students were hospitalised due to food poisoning. Less than one month later, in a similar case, 161 Al-Azhar students became ill after eating on campus.
Ten individuals accused of responsibility for the 1 April mass food poisoning incident are currently on trial on charges of negligence.
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