386 students hospitalized with infectious diarrhea

A total of 386 students of a school in southwest China's Sichuan Province who were hospitalized on Thursday with food poisoning-like symptoms have been confirmed as victims of infectious diarrhea, local authorities said on Saturday.

As of 10:30 a.m. Saturday, 231 of the hospitalized students from Meishan Yingtian School still remained in hospital under observation, said the Dongpo District government of the city of Meishan.

No students have been found with critical conditions, said the district government.

Around 5:20 p.m. on Thursday, some students were found with symptoms of vomiting, dizziness and fever at Meishan Yingtian School, a private operation with over 1,300 students in its kindergarten, primary, junior and high-school grades.

Experts from the provincial disease control and prevention center have sealed up food samples from the school's dining hall.

Government authorities in Meishan City have started food safety checks in all schools in the city.

Further investigation and diagnosis are under way.