NANCHANG - More than 220 people were hospitalized after eating lobsters in east Jiangxi Province, a local hospital reported on Friday.

Ruichang city residents who unsuspectingly indulged in a Thursday night lobster feast later suffered from diarrhea, vomiting, and some contracted a fever, said Gong Jinwen, a doctor who treated the sick at Renmin Hospital. Doctors speculate that E coli could be the cause.

More than 4,000 people attended the lobster shindig, which was part of the city's government-sponsored lobster festival.