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"contents": "<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tensions are high in Alexandra, Johannesburg, with people in an uproar following the tragic death of a 10-year-old girl in what unconfirmed reports are calling the latest food poisoning incident in Gauteng.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Following the news of her death, people took to the streets and gathered at the spaza shop that allegedly sold the goods, expressing frustration at what appears to be an increasingly common occurrence in the province. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The </span><a href=\"https://www.sowetanlive.co.za/news/2024-11-03-alexandra-girl-dies-mom-and-brother-in-hospital-after-eating-spaza-shop-snacks/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sowetan</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> reported that the girl’s father had been told by her before she fell ill that the snacks had tasted “strange”. Her 38-year-old mother and four-year-old brother, who according to reports both ate the snacks, also fell ill and have since been hospitalised.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In an interview on </span><a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aq-i6fwyH0k\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">SABC</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, the girl’s father, Joshua Maaboi, said his daughter got home holding some snacks. She asked her mother to smell them and the 38-year-old confirmed they had a peculiar odour. Later, the daughter, complaining of chest pain, was whisked off to Masakhane Clinic where the mother and four-year-old son would later develop stomach pain. </span>\r\n\r\nhttps://youtu.be/aq-i6fwyH0k?si=4Q5ZxopM6ZnGvNAx\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In a statement, the Gauteng Department of Health acknowledged the death of the child and extended condolences to the family.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“The Gauteng Department of Health confirms that a 38-year-old mother and her four-year-old son from Alexandra in Johannesburg are currently receiving treatment at Edenvale Hospital following a suspected foodborne illness. Both patients are in a stable condition and under medical care. Regrettably, the family’s 10-year-old daughter passed away after being rushed to the Alexandra Community Health Centre emergency unit last night (2 November).”</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It added that “government is concerned about the </span><a href=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2024-09-05-gauteng-health-department-issues-urgent-warning-after-huge-spike-in-child-food-poisoning-cases/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">rising incidents</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of foodborne illnesses, particularly those affecting children”.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Members of the South African Police Service (SAPS) have since been deployed to Alexandra in an attempt to stave off unrest amid rising tensions and community discontent.</span>\r\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\r\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Alexandra JHB: another death apparently from items bought from a tuck/spaza shop.</p>\r\nThe community is furious. <a href=\"https://t.co/DOpa4e6S3G\">pic.twitter.com/DOpa4e6S3G</a>\r\n\r\n— Yusuf Abramjee (@Abramjee) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/Abramjee/status/1853010448745984277?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 3, 2024</a></blockquote>\r\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In response to queries from Daily Maverick, Gauteng SAPS spokesperson Colonel Dimakatsu Nevhuhulwi released a statement.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“The SAPS in Gauteng has called for calm whilst investigations continue after a nine-year-old girl lost her life after allegedly consuming what is suspected to be poisoned snacks in Alexandra, Johannesburg North.” </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Though the police have referred to the late child as being nine years old, her father confirmed she was 10 in an interview with the SABC. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The SAPS statement continued, “According to a report, the police in Alexandra responded to a call regarding a mother and her two kids who were experiencing stomach aches. Regrettably, the nine-year-old was declared dead while the mother and the four-year-old are still in hospital.” </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Colonel Nevhuhulwi said an inquest case had been opened and a team of police investigators, health experts and other role players would look into whether the food was contaminated.</span>\r\n<h4><b>Tragic pattern</b></h4>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The death is the latest in </span><a href=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2024-10-26-race-against-time-to-find-banned-insecticides-possibly-linked-to-food-poisoning-deaths-of-11-soweto-children/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">a troubling series</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of poisoning or food poisoning incidents often allegedly linked to spaza shops, particularly affecting children in Gauteng.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Since February 2024, Gauteng has reported </span><a href=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2024-09-05-gauteng-health-department-issues-urgent-warning-after-huge-spike-in-child-food-poisoning-cases/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">at least 207 suspected food poisoning cases</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> among children, with 10 resulting in fatalities. The incidents include suspected exposure to both foodborne illnesses as well as to poisons associated with rodent or insect control.</span>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/screenshot-146/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2426970\" src=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/P4-leratoestelle-poisoning.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1348\" height=\"1362\" /></a> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Daily Maverick recently </span><a href=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2024-10-10-he-could-no-longer-speak-he-kept-vomiting-soweto-grandmother-describes-poisoned-childs-final-moments/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">reported</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that six children died in Naledi, Soweto, of suspected poisoning in October. The children – Monica Sebetwana (6), Ida Maama (7), Isago Mabote (8), Karabo Rampou (9), Njabulo Msimanga (7) and Katlego Olifant (7) – </span><a href=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2024-10-26-race-against-time-to-find-banned-insecticides-possibly-linked-to-food-poisoning-deaths-of-11-soweto-children/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">reportedly</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> ate snacks from a local spaza shop that authorities believe could have been contaminated by pesticides.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Last week, Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi released the results of toxicology reports, which revealed the six Naledi children died due to ingesting an </span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">organophosphate called terbufos, a highly hazardous pesticide registered in South Africa for agricultural use, but commonly and illegally sold as a street pesticide for domestic use.</span>\r\n\r\n<b>Read more: </b><a href=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2024-10-28-naledi-childrens-deaths-caused-by-restricted-pesticide-ministers/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tragic deaths of six Soweto children linked to lethal organophosphate poisoning – investigation ongoing</span></a>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Authorities are still investigating the source of the poisoning of the children in Naledi after a packet of chips from the spaza shop linked to the case that had been found on one of the children tested negative for the pesticide.</span> <b>DM</b>",
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Daily Maverick recently reported that six children died in Naledi, Soweto, of suspected poisoning in October. The children – Monica Sebetwana (6), Ida Maama (7), Isago Mabote (8), Karabo Rampou (9), Njabulo Msimanga (7) and Katlego Olifant (7) – reportedly ate snacks from a local spaza shop that authorities believe could have been contaminated by pesticides.