Ammon News - The number of food poisoning cases among students at Ibdar and Hatem primary schools in Bani Kanana, Irbid, has climbed to 55, three days after the outbreak linked to meals from a falafel restaurant.

Dr. Ayman Maqableh, Director of the Epidemiology Department at the Ministry of Health, told "Ammon News" that lab tests confirmed the presence of the Shigella bacterium as the cause of the infections.

One of the restaurant’s workers tested positive for Shigella, suggesting that the bacteria could have been transmitted during food handling by the employee or through inadequately washed vegetables, he added.