About 100 children aged 6 to 12 were forced to leave the Grammatico camp after developing high fevers and severe stomach upsets – symptoms that can be caused by viral gastroenteritis, officials said.
Some of them were hospitalized in Athens hospitals. However, some parents express doubts and admit the possibility that their children were poisoned either by food or water, which is also denied by the camp management.
According to the mother of the child, who has been hospitalized in a private clinic in Athens since Monday with a high fever, “The kids ate pork chops and sausage on Sunday night and woke up Monday morning with diarrhea and an upset stomach.” The mother was called to pick up her child and she arrived at the camp at 4:30 pm that same day. “Upon arrival, I saw a lot of cars and angry parents who had come for the same reason – to pick up their children in a deplorable state.”
In a conversation with the staff of the camp dispensary, she was informed that many children were sick with gastroenteritis. “I doubted it because it was only a few hours after the evening meal. In addition, several children complained about the taste of the water. “It smelled like a cesspool,” my own child told me, who even now, two days after the incident, still has a fever,” – adds the mother.
Another parent, in a comment on the camp's Google review page six days ago, complained about the water the children were drinking. He's writing: “My child's first time at camp. The reason I give three stars is because of the water the children are forced to drink. Send someone who knows how to check the equipment. The water, according to my child and other children we have heard about, tastes like water from a cesspool. My child came home and drank water as if he had not drunk anything at all. If you have this problem, you have a responsibility to give them bottled water at all costs.”
According to the camp owner, The reason for the departure of dozens of children was viral gastroenteritis, which could have been transmitted due to visiting the camp last Saturday, in June. “It’s not about food or water. I immediately sent samples of both food and water for analysis, as required, and there was no evidence to conclude that this was poisoning, so I am sending you the test results.”
According to her, 120 exit permits were issued to sick children (some who were healthy were forced to leave because their siblings also left), others are being treated in the infirmary, and some have already recovered. The transmission of the virus, the camp owner concludes, may be due to the arrival of relatives last Saturday, when dozens of parents had contact with their children.
Who is really to blame will be investigated by the investigation.
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