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36
The patient was a resident in a private hotel where about forty visitors and ten
members of the staff also resided. Five visitors and one of the staff also became
ill suffering from diarrhoea and vomiting; another complained of severe abdominal
pain. Those who recovered were all able to resume ordinary food within a day or
so. It could not be ascertained that any article of food, except potatoes and
green vegetables had been consumed by all the sufferers at the evening meal
preceding the development of the illness. The potatoes were not green or
sprouting. All the sufferers except the member of the staff partook of luncheon
away from the hotel. It was found that the cook suffered from " bilious attacks
and a bad stomach." She stated that she had an attack of diarrhoea a month
previously. The attack was evident several days before the others were infected
and was over well before the development of the first case. The cooking utensils
were of iron and enamel.
In accordance with Memorandum 30 (Foods) of the Ministry of Health
specimens of blood were submitted for examination. The blood of one of the
sufferers gave indubitable evidence of "Aertrycke" infection. The cook's blood
gave a positive though lesser result similar to that of the sufferer before
mentioned. It would therefore seem clear that the outbreak was caused by the
cook infecting the food consumed at dinner (April 15th) prior to outbreak of the
illness. There was no evidence as to how the cook became infected. Arrangements
were made for the cook not to resume her work.
Later in the year an enquiry in connection with another outbreak was made,
but with a negative result.
In October a communication was received from the Medical Officer of Health,
Tnner and Middle Temple, respecting cases of illness, nausea, vomiting, rigors and
diarrhoea, after consuming milk. The milk in question was supplied from a dairy
in the Borough.
I ascertained from the dairyman the names and addresses of all the customers
who had been supplied from the same consignment, forwarding those which were
not in this Borough to the Medical Officers of Health concerned. All were
visited but no other case of illness was found amongst any of them.
It is very important that a Medical Officer of Health should receive early
information as to all cases of food poisoning in his district. He should not be
dependent for the first information of such illnesses on casual sources such as
newspaper reports, etc. It is true that neither medical practitioners nor the
general public are under statutory obligation to report cases of food poisoning to
the Medical Officer of Health, but in a memorandum on the subject recently issued
by the Ministry of Health the belief is expressed that if it is generally undei stoo l
that the local authority, with a view to safeguarding public health, is prepared
to authorise any necessary enquiries and investigations, the arrangements made
will receive general approval and secure the co-operation of all concerned,