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All the attacks were of a mild character and the patients
recovered rapidly. Advice was offered as to precautionary
measures to be adopted in respect of the storage and handling
of the food in the meals centres, the necessity for handwashing
after use of the W.C., and the importance of reporting any
attacks of diarrhoea, however mild, among the kitchen staff.
The cause of outbreaks of this nature is frequently staphylococcic
toxin. It cannot be urged too strongly that meat
products should not be prepared in advance of the time when
they are required for consumption. Overnight storage of cooked
food in bulk is dangerous as bacterial multiplication may easily
occur in made-up meat dishes and cooked meats even in a
refrigerator. Measures to prevent outbreaks should always
be in force and should include:—
(i) Premises in which food is prepared or served should
at all times be clean and free from rats and flies.
Provision should be made for proper storage refrigerator
accommodation, adequate washing facilities
with soap and towels, a continuous supply of running
hot water, and sufficient refuse bins for all waste
matter.
(ii) Persons engaged in food handling should be carefully
supervised, educated in personal hygiene and medically
examined periodically. Any attack of vomiting,
diarrhoea or any septic condition should be reported
immediately and the individual suspended from the
handling of food. Any absence from duty by reason of
sickness should be investigated. The washing of
hands after visiting the water closet should be compulsory.
Coughing and sneezing should always be
into a handkerchief.
(iii) The provision of a dish washing machine for the
cleansing of crockery and other utensils in communal
use.