Man dies of suspected food poisoning from toddy shop in Kottayam

Kottayam: A 41-year-old man who had fallen ill after consuming food and toddy from a toddy shop near Kottayam died while undergoing treatment at a hospital on Monday. Four others who were with him and had also consumed the food and toddy are under treatment at a private hospital here.Jyothish, son of late Sali of Pallikoodamparambil in Kumarakom, died on Monday morning. His friends Akhil, Sujith, Nikhil and Gireesh are under treatment. The toddy shop, named ‘Parippu Thollayiram’, was shut down following complaints of food poisoning. The group had bought fish head curry along with toddy from the shop.Postmortem examination of Jyotish’s body was conducted at Govt Medical College Hospital.

According to police, preliminary findings indicate the death was caused by an internal infection. The exact cause of the infection will be known only after chemical analysis tests.On Friday evening, a seven-member group — including three natives of Kumily — bought the fish head curry and toddy from the shop during a journey on a houseboat. Five of them, including Jyothish, who ate the fish head curry subsequently developed diarrhoea and vomiting and were admitted to Bharat Hospital in Kottayam.

The two who did not eat the curry reported no health problems. Food safety department officials collected samples from the shop.Jyothish, whose both kidneys had failed, was put on dialysis before his death. He is survived by his wife Veena and children Rudrapala and Rudra Theerth. The cremation was held. Police said it could only be confirmed whether the death was caused by food poisoning once the detailed postmortem report is available. Jyothish was the area manager of a private finance institution.