Children poisoned by pasta and spinach

The Prime Minister of Sarajevo Canton, Elmedin Konaković, said today that the strictest sanctions will be imposed against all those who, through their negligence, irresponsibility or ignorance, led to an epidemic and 200 sick children in Sarajevo Canton, writes the BiH news agency Patria.

Konaković visited the Cantonal Administration for Inspection Affairs with a KS delegation today.

- The Ministry of Health acted according to the acts that define how an epidemic is declared, with the consent of the Federal Minister, and we, as the Government, reacted in that way when the conditions were met. The most important thing is that the whole matter is over, that there is no further escalation, that children are gradually being released from hospital treatment, and it is up to us to show with strict sanctions that we will not tolerate such failures in the system in Sarajevo Canton - said Konaković.

Senada Hadžijusufović, chief inspector of the Cantonal Administration for Inspection Affairs of Sarajevo Canton, stated that increased supervision is being carried out, and a series of anti-epidemic measures have been taken, such as general cleaning, disinfection, and deratization.

- Salmonella was detected in pasta and spinach by a control sample; swabs were normal, and the hygienic-sanitary condition at the time of inspection on the day of the infection was visually satisfactory. All legal regulations have been complied with, which means that the Public Institution Children of Sarajevo has a contract with the Public Health Institute of Sarajevo Canton for conducting sanitary inspections of employees, food testing, pest control, and employee training on sanitary regulations. It takes seven to 15 days to talk about the cause of this epidemic.

Konaković said that the cooperation between the KS Assembly and the Cantonal Administration for Inspection Affairs was not at the expected level, but that this would change.

- It is illogical that the closest associates of the prime minister and the government do not include the director of the Cantonal Administration for Inspection Affairs, with whom we should be discussing processes that are important in terms of sanctions and prevention, so that people in Sarajevo Canton are aware that we are starting a fight against the grey economy, against illegal sellers, against everything that destroys KS - said Konaković.

What was highlighted as the biggest problem is the lack of staff, i.e., an insufficient number of inspectors covering a significant number of areas.