Vacation in the Carpathians ended with a hospital stay: what is known about the mass poisoning of children
Ukrainian children, who have been studying for years in conditions of war, air raids, stress and constant uncertainty, especially need a safe space for rest. Trips to the mountains for schoolchildren often become a brief opportunity to escape from the usual tension, to be with classmates outside the shelters, online lessons and news about shelling. Because of this, the story of the mass poisoning of teenagers in the Carpathian region is particularly worrying, because even where the children were supposed to recover, they faced a health risk.
Mass poisoning of children in the Carpathians
A group of tenth-graders from Ternopil came to rest in the Carpathians together with their class teacher and parents. The trip was attended by 26 students who stayed at the Naciku hotel in the village of Polyanytsia. The program included a vacation in the mountains and climbing Mount Synyak, but at night the children began to complain en masse about a sharp deterioration in their well-being – 21 children fell ill with acute gastroenterocolitis. This was reported on Facebook by the schoolgirl’s mother, Halyna Ratushnyak.
The teenagers were diagnosed with exhaustion, dehydration, vomiting and diarrhea, which required many to use IVs. Four schoolchildren were taken to the infectious diseases department of the Yaremche City Hospital in serious condition.
After providing emergency care, some of the affected children continued treatment in the infectious diseases departments of medical institutions in Ternopil. For parents, this trip, which was supposed to be a regular school break after a difficult school year, turned into night calls, an urgent trip to the Carpathians, and worries about the condition of the children.
Halyna Ratushnyak said that the parents called the police at night, and the case was officially recorded. According to her, the children fainted en masse, had severe symptoms of poisoning, and the hotel administration, according to the woman, did not show an appropriate reaction and did not contact the parents after the incident.
Checking the conditions at the hotel
After the parents appealed to the hotel, investigators and representatives of the State Food and Consumer Protection Service arrived. Specialists began an epidemiological investigation, checked the conditions of the children’s food and stay, and also seized the products that the teenagers complained about.
The head of the department for state supervision over compliance with sanitary legislation of the State Service for the State Food and Consumer Protection of Ukraine in the Ivano-Frankivsk region, Lesya Semanchuk, reported that a number of violations were found in the hotel. Specialists also took water samples and washings from the catering unit to establish a possible source of the disease.
According to Halyna Ratushnyak, representatives of the regulatory authorities arrived in the afternoon, when, as she claims, the water in the pool was drained and the food in the kitchen was replenished. These circumstances should be assessed by the relevant services as part of the inspection.
Position of the Bukovel tourist complex
The communications department of the Bukovel tourist complex stated that the hotel where the incident occurred is not located on the territory of the resort. They emphasized that the complex has its own treatment facilities, a water filtration station, and a regular quality control system.
The tourist complex also noted that they are not responsible for the water and engineering networks of facilities operating outside the resort. Separately, they drew attention to the problem of water supply and sewage in nearby settlements, in particular in Polyanytsia and Yablunytsia, where many hotels and estates operate.
Why this story is especially painful
For children growing up during the war, school trips have a different meaning than ordinary vacations. They provide an opportunity to regain, at least for a few days, the feeling of normal teenage life, where there are classmates, mountains, common routes, and the expectation of a safe adventure.
Because of this, the mass poisoning in a hotel in the Carpathians looks not only as a sanitary incident related to food or living conditions. It shows how important the responsibility of institutions that host children’s groups remains, especially in a country where children are already living under the constant pressure of war.
The circumstances of the disease are currently being established by the competent services. The final conclusions should depend on the results of laboratory tests of food, water and waste, as well as on an examination of the conditions in which the schoolchildren were.
