The group had traveled from Kazakhstan’s Karaganda region to take part in the Dostlik Cup 2026 international football festival. The first cases were reported on November 1, when several members of the delegation developed symptoms of food poisoning after breakfast at their hotel.
According to the Health Ministry, the group had eaten undercooked eggs and sausages. That day, 13 people developed vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain and fever. They were taken by ambulance to the Republican Specialized Scientific and Practical Medical Center for Epidemiology, Microbiology, Infectious and Parasitic Diseases, where they received initial treatment before being transferred to City Clinical Infectious Diseases Hospital No. 5.
Seven more people were admitted with similar symptoms on November 2 and 3. Medical examinations found that all 20 patients had acute diarrhea. The ministry said they had received treatment in accordance with established medical protocols and that the 18 patients still in hospital were in stable and satisfactory condition. None required intensive care.
The Committee for Sanitary and Epidemiological Welfare and Public Health has collected samples of leftover food for laboratory testing. The results have not yet been reported.
The Chilanzar District Prosecutor’s Office has opened a criminal case under Article 276-13 of the Criminal Code, which covers violations of sanitary legislation and anti-epidemic regulations. Investigators from the district’s internal affairs department are conducting a preliminary investigation.
The incident was first brought to the attention of the Kazakh Embassy in Uzbekistan on November 1. Consul Saken Perdebekov went to City Clinical Infectious Diseases Hospital No. 5 to check on the patients. Kazakhstan’s ambassador later visited the hospital, met with the parents and familiarized himself with the treatment being provided.
The situation is being monitored by Kazakhstan’s Health Minister Akmaral Alnazarova and Uzbekistan’s First Deputy Health Minister Otabek Imomov. Specialists from the Tashkent Medical Academy, including a professor, and experts from the sanitary and epidemiological service have also joined the response.
The tournament organizers have apologized to the participating teams and parents in a statement on the event’s Instagram page. One of the organizers suggested that the incident had occurred at a hotel with which they had worked for more than four years.
