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the poisoning. The illness in the mother and baby which was
milder was explained by the fact that the mother had eaten
a hen's egg and the baby bread, both fried with, and at the same
time as, the duck egg. Alternatively it was possible that the
mother contaminated her fingers when breaking the duck egg
and conveyed the infection to her own food, and that of the
baby. All three patients recovered.
The remaining instance was known to have affected 7
persons in three families, all of whom had purchased portions
of a veal and ham pie from the same purveyor on the same
day. The probability is that all these portions were from the
same single pie, which itself was one of a batch. The onset
varied from 2 to 5 hours after ingestion, and the symptoms
were sickness, diarrhoea and abdominal pain. Examination of
the remains of the pie revealed numerous staphylococci, and
the symptoms were compatible with staphylococcal toxin
poisoning. All patients recovered.
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