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Food Poisoning.
Food poisoning has been notifiable since 12th July, 1932,
under the London County Council (General Powers) Act, 1932.
Since October it is notifiable under the Public Health (London)
Act, 1936, Section 182. During the year 101 cases were notified.
1. Outbreak due to B. enteritidis Gaertner.
The following is an account of an outbreak of food poisoning
due to the infection of gammon, corned beef and breakfast sausage
with one of the members of the Salmonella group of food poisoning
organisms, viz., B. enteritidis Gaertner. It was impossible to prove
with any certainty the precise path of infection. The B. enteritidis
Gaertner was isolated from four of the staff of the shop concerned,
23 of those attacked, and from the suspected food on the retailer's
premises.
Persons Affected.—132 persons (in 70 households) were affected
by the outbreak, 82 of whom resided in the Metropolitan Borough
of Finsbury, 40 in the Metropolitan Borough of St. Pancras,
eight in Islington, one in Bethnal Green, and one in Holborn.
Nineteen persons were admitted to hospital, either general hospitals
or London County Council hospitals. Their ages ranged from
5 years to 79 years. Eleven children under 15 years of age
were notified. A number of persons were ascertained to have
partaken of the suspected food without ill effects.
Deaths.—Three deaths were recorded, two being in Finsbury
and one in St. Pancras—a blind man of 73 years, and two women
of 54 and 43 years of age respectively. The B. enteritidis Gaertner
was isolated from the stools in each case, but in one the partaking
of the suspected food could not be proved.
Symptoms and Incubation Period.—The symptoms were of the
usual type, viz., gastro-intestinal irritation and inflammation of
various degrees of severity; nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea and
abdominal pain were prominent symptoms. Vomiting in some
cases was delayed for several hours, and fever in some cases was
high and in others moderate. Some of those attacked had only
mild symptoms, and medical attention was not sought.
The incubation period ranged from 7-38 hours, 12-24 hours
being the most common. The long incubation period in most