Seventeen people, including a 10-month-old baby, have been admitted to Lundazi District Hospital following suspected water poisoning in Chasefu District.
Lundazi District Hospital Acting Medical Superintendent Chota Phiri confirmed that the victims presented with abdominal pain and diarrhoea but were in stable condition.
Dr Phiri said the patients allegedly drank water from a community well suspected to have been contaminated with a poisonous substance.
He said a team of toxicologists was conducting tests on water and human samples to establish the cause of the incident.
The person suspected of contaminating the well, which reportedly affected about 38 people, is also receiving treatment after allegedly ingesting the suspected poisonous substance.
One of the victims, Oscar Zimba, told the media from his hospital bed that he saw one of his relatives hurriedly leaving the community water point on Monday evening.
Zimba said when the relative was confronted, he allegedly ingested the substance suspected to have been used to contaminate the well.
The suspect is among those admitted to Lundazi District Hospital.
The admitted patients include 10 children, two men and seven women.
By press time, police had not yet issued a statement on the incident.
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