A food poisoning outbreak struck more than 100 students Sunday night in a high school in Ningbo city, east China's Zhejiang Province, sources said Monday.

All the sick students were from Zhejiang Vocational College of Commerce, which houses more than 5,000 students.

Two emergency rooms of Ningbo No. 2 Hospital and the Women and Children's Hospital were packed by students seeking treatment. They suffered from stomachache, vomiting and diarrhea.

It is suspected that infected food or pesticide residue on vegetables might have been the cause of the outbreak, according to doctors.

Sources said at least 10 students are still hospitalized for further medical observation and students of the college said the number of sickened students could reach 150.

The exact number of those affected was still unclear since the local government, hospitals and the college refused to comment on the issue.

Local health departments took away food samples from the college for further tests to find the cause of the outbreak.

(Xinhua News Agency October 14, 2003)