2,000 El Salvador inmates suffer from food poisoning

June 20th, 2011 - 8:03 am ICT by IANS  

San Salvador, June 20 (IANS/EFE) At least 2,000 inmates at five prisons in Central America’s El Salvador fell ill after having food during the weekend, police said.

Most of the inmates at prisons in La Union, Ciudad Barrios, San Miguel, Usulutan and Jucuapa suffered from vomiting and diarrhoea, but no one was hospitalised, prison service spokeswoman Isabel Estrada said.

The sick inmates were being treated for a bacterial infection. Food samples have been tested to determine what caused the poisoning, she said.

El Salvador’s prisons hold 24,631 inmates, representing an overcrowding rate of 300 percent, according to figures from the bureau of prisons.

The Central American country’s 21 prisons have the capacity to hold just 8,300 inmates.

–IANS/EFE
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