Doctors at the Zhecheng County People's Hospital in central China's Henan Province confirmed Wednesday that 47 children from the county's No. 2 Primary School were hospitalized on Monday with symptoms of food poisoning.

By Wednesday, all the students were in stable condition and a preliminary investigation indicated showed that unclean food and bacteria were to blame.

In yet another food poisoning case, at least 116 Changchun University students fell ill in the capital city of northeast China's Jilin Province on Wednesday morning. Unconfirmed reports put the number of sick students as high as 144.

The students were taken to two local hospitals in Changchun after eating breakfast. University authorities said that only 116 students had fallen ill by 11:00 AM Wednesday.

The students reported symptoms of nausea, vomiting and fever. Some fainted.

Doctors at the No. 1 Hospital affiliated with Jilin University and Qianwei Hospital attributed the poisoning to nitrite in a breakfast of fried rice with scrambled egg.

Local police and the city's health supervision department have sealed the dining facility where the breakfast was served and a team is investigating the case.

All the students were out of danger following emergency care, said doctors.

(China Daily May 20, 2004)