So far 38 children from a Montgomery daycare center, all under the age of 10, have come to the Baptist South Medical Center emergency room with foodborne illnesses, and hospital officials anticipate more may be coming in later tonight. So far the hospital has not seen any illnesses that have appeared life-threatening.

“As of about 30 minutes ago, we have admitted eight, and we are opening a unit specifically for these patients,” said hospital spokeswoman Merrill South at a little after 7 p.m. Tuesday night. “There is a possibility more will come in tonight. We really don’t know what that number may look like.”

The children came in exhibiting symptoms of vomiting and diarrhea, but South said while doctors have determined it is a foodborne illness, there is still no diagnosis of what kind of food poisoning is involved.

While it is almost certain that it is something the children ate at Sunny Side Child Care Center, he said foodborne illnesses cover a large number of causes, and until they determine what the cause was it is difficult to speculate on the possible severity.