Poisoned Maize Porridge Kills 16 In Ivory Coast

Close to 100 people were thought to have eaten the porridge and authorities feared the death toll could rise.

At least 16 people including several children have died of food poisoning after eating maize porridge in a village in central Ivory Coast, the health ministry said on Monday.

All of those who died in the village in the Bongouanou district, 200 km (120 miles) north of the commercial capital Abidjan, had consumed maize meal sold by a local woman, ministry spokesman Simeon N'Da said.

"It's a food poisoning from consuming the porridge," he said, adding that samples of the meal had been sent to the Pasteur Institute in Abidjan for analysis.

N'Da said close to 100 people were thought to have eaten the porridge and authorities feared the death toll could rise as many of those who fell ill were consulting traditional healers rather than going to regular qualified doctors.

In 2001, at least 12 people died near the Ivorian capital Yamoussoukro after drinking maize broth contaminated by an unidentified toxin that caused violent vomiting and severe diarrhoea, local newspapers said at the time.