Croatian Health Minister Beroš: We have six patients with suspected poisoning, drink tap water

(Patria) - Several people have ended up in hospital due to suspected poisoning from carbonated drinks in Croatia. Health Minister Vili Beroš said that since yesterday there are four more patients at KBC Zagreb, one is at Vinogradska Hospital, and one in Varaždin, and that it needs to be determined whether everything is related to the consumption of various drinks.

"All patients have milder symptoms and most will be discharged for home treatment. The patient in Varaždin has been discharged for home treatment, five patients will be discharged from KBC Zagreb, and probably the sixth as well. Fortunately, these are minor injuries, and it now needs to be determined whether they are related to the consumption of drinks. Preliminarily, we can say that two are directly related to the consumption of drinks," said Beroš.

The Health Minister said that all institutions are doing their job, acting in accordance with the protocol provided for such situations, and the health system is ready for challenges.

"The police and all competent bodies, the State Attorney's Office and the State Inspectorate, were informed in a timely manner, so the procedure is ongoing."

He emphasized that there is no reason for panic, but that caution is necessary.

When asked why the public was not immediately informed, Beroš said that the institutions were waiting for the findings.

"The paradigm of behavior was turned around by the situation; similar cases of chemical injuries began to appear in other cities as well. After the first case in Rijeka, it was not possible to say what it was about. The consumption of drinks could have been incidental, the drink could have been altered in some way. At that moment, we did not think it was necessary to raise panic. But when we learned yesterday afternoon about the emergence of new cases, we went to the media and said what we know. We came out when we assessed that there was a danger," the minister explained.

He also commented on the messages that spread on social networks. Beroš said that institutions are checking who released false information to the public.

"Those pieces of information were false, forged, and released into the public space from the aspect of spreading panic. When the results of the analyses are known, the institutions will inform the public."

He revealed that the hospitalized patients did not drink the same beverages, which further casts doubt on the possible suggestibility of symptoms.

"Some even consumed salted sticks. We need to connect everything together, not scare the public. We will inform the public when a connection is established, and until then, a general recommendation is to drink water from the water supply network, which should be completely safe from a health perspective," said Beroš.

He believes that the state has reacted adequately.

"The state is doing what it needs to. Safety is the priority. If the assessment is such that the Security and Intelligence Agency is also involved, it will be involved," concluded Beroš.