Thiruvananthapuram | A few female students at the government medical college here suffered from suspected food poisoning, allegedly after eating a non-vegetarian dish served during a meal, official sources said on Sunday.

A medical college official said that five students living in the women’s hostel sought treatment in the emergency department for diarrhoea.

Subsequent enquiries at the hostel revealed that more students experienced similar symptoms but had recovered and did not require treatment.

One of the students who claimed to have suffered from food poisoning told a TV channel that around 80 of her hostel mates were also affected.

Principal-in-charge Dr U Anuja, in a statement, said it could not be confirmed whether the students fell ill due to food poisoning.

She further added that there was no need to be worried as the students do not have any major health problems.

She also noted that of the 600 students living in the hostel, many eat food from outside, so it was unclear whether the illness was due to eating hostel food.

Another hospital official said that students claimed they fell ill after eating butter chicken served at the hostel on May 15, and those who had vegetarian food did not show any symptoms.

The principal-in-charge said samples of the hostel food have been sent for testing to the Food Safety Department of the government and the microbiology wing of the medical college hospital.

All precautions have been taken in the hostel regarding food preparation and provision of clean drinking water to the students, the statement added.