London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972

View report page

Battersea 1926

Report on the health of the Metropolitan Borough of Battersea for the year 1926

This page requires JavaScript

93
in Battersea, as such food had been eaten (so far as can be ascertained)
in common with other members of the family, who were
not affected. Nor was there any definite evidence against the icecream
or lemonade consumed in the East End of London, no other
cases of food poisoning in that locality having been discovered.
(3) W.G.F., aged 45, was admitted to St. James's Hospital
on the 13th September, and died the same evening. On the 9th
and 10th September he had partaken of fish at a restaurant in a
neighbouring borough and became ill on the evening of the 10th
September. Full enquiries were instituted into the circumstances,
but the bacteriological evidence and the subsequent evidence at
the inquest led to the conclusion that death in this case was not due
to food poisoning.
(4) Mrs. B., and two children, G. and J., the two former having
been admitted to St. Thomas's Hospital, suffering from acute gastroenteritis
suspected to be due to food poisoning, and the latter into
St. James's Hospital in November. On enquiry at St. James's
Hospital, it was ascertained that in the case of the boy admitted to
that Institution food poisoning was not suspected. All three had
eaten imported preserved duck eggs fried in mutton dripping from
the Sunday joint. Bacteriological tests of ducks eggs purchased
from the same consignment failed to detect the presence of any of
the bacillary group associated with food poisoning. All the patients
made a good recovery.
These isolated instances of food poisoning, though of special
interest and importance from the point of view of investigation,
present considerable difficulty in tracing the source of infection.