Suspected food poisoning sickens 24 in NW China

LANZHOU - Guests at a wedding reception were hospitalized after they fell ill in from suspected food poisoning in Northwest China's Gansu province, the local health authority said Wednesday.

The guests fell in ill on Saturday and as of Wednesday morning, 14 people were still receiving treatment at the Second People's Hospital in Yuzhong county on the outskirts of Lanzhou, the provincial capital, the county's health administration said.

The other 10 patients have been discharged from hospital.

The patients suffered stomachaches and diarrhoea after attending a wedding reception at a Sichuan restaurant in Gancaodian township of the rural Yuzhong county on Saturday, the authority said.

Most of the patients, however, did not seek medication until Tuesday, after realizing they were not feeling better. The local disease prevention and control authority has launched an investigation.

Altogether 140 people attended the wedding reception.