The Ministry of Health and Social protection of Tajikistan (MoHSPP) says the poisoning of seven people in Vose district was caused by consuming canned salads.

An official source at a MoHSPP told Asia-Plus in an interview that the victims, including six children and one adult, were not from the same family but were neighbors who ate together. All of them are residents of Bahoriston village in Vose district.

“As a result of poisoning, two boys, aged 5 and 11, died, and five other people were hospitalized. The hospitalized individuals are now in stable condition,” the source added. The prosecutor's office has launched an investigation into the incident.

However, the source did not say what exactly the victims were eating and where they were eating that.

The tragedy took place on July 12.  The Vose prosecutor office has launched an investigation into the incident.  

Home canning is the leading cause of food-borne botulism in Tajikistan. According to data from the Republican Sanitary and Epidemiological Service, 132 cases of food-borne botulism were officially registered in the country in 2019-2020 alone, with the largest number of diseases, 68 (51.5%), registered in 2019, and 64 (48.5%) in 2020.