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Medical Officer of Health of Holbom, where the boy resided.
A warning letter was sent by the Deputy Town Clerk to the
errand boy. Mrs. A. was informed that the boy would not be
allowed to return until three negative results had been obtained,
as in the case of her husband and son, both of whom had been
admitted to an Isolation Hospital.
Miss A. arrived at the shop during the lunch hour, and it
was again suggested that it might be advisable to close the shop
for the present. Permission was given for Mrs. A. and Miss A.
to carry on the business, but Miss A. decided not to do this until
the result of the examination of her faeces was known. Mrs. A.
continued serving the customers with pre-wrapped goods, until
the shop closed in the evening.
1st September.—No cases connected with the outbreak were
reported. The second specimen of Mrs. A.'s faeces was reported
as Positive, B. enteritidis Gaertner, and Miss A. (first specimen)
Negative so far.
Mrs. A. was immediately instructed to cease selling, and she
decided under the circumstances to close the shop, which became
effective at 12 noon. She was informed that three negative
examinations of her faeces would be required, should she decide
to help in the shop and handle food there at a later date.
The shop and fittings and all drawers were thoroughly scrubbed
with a hot, strong solution of lysol. The shop was closed from
this date, and no further cases connected with the outbreak were
notified. It was reported that Mrs. A. had been admitted to an
Isolation Hospital.
Summary.
A report is submitted of an outbreak of food poisoning
involving some 132 persons, of whom 82 were residents in the
Metropolitan Borough of Finsbury. Three deaths were reported,
giving a fatality rate of 2.3 per cent. The outbreak was due to
one of the Salmonella group of food poisoning organisms, viz.,
B. enteritidis Gaertner, but the precise path of infection was not
discovered. In 88 cases the illness was ascribed to ham, 34 to
corned beef, 4 to breakfast sausage, 5 to either ham or corned beef,