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67
NOTIFICATION OF FOOD POISONING.
Under tho provisions of the London County Council (General
Powers) Act, 1932, which came into force on the 12th July, 1932,
now re-enacted in the Public Health (London) Act, 1936, every
registered medical practitioner attending on any person shall, if he
suspects or becomes aware that such person is suffering from food
poisoning forthwith notify such case to the Medical Officer of Health.
There were 6 cases notified during the year as compared with
one for the previous year. Investigation was also made at the
request of the Borough of St. Pancras in regard to a case of suspected
food poisoning where the patient was taken ill after partaking of
food at the Staff Canteen where she was employed.
All the cases recovered with the exception of case No. 2, which
unfortunately terminated fatally. The patient, a married woman,
died within 33 hours after eating fried fish. At the Inquest it was
ascertained that the woman had had fried fish for supper every
night for months from the same shop. The shop-keeper giving
evidence stated he had had 30 years experience and the portion
sold to the deceased was part of a consignment he had bought,
cleaned and fried the same day. The premises, like other fried
fish shops, had been under the regular supervision of the Food
Inspector and no complaint either with regard to the premises,
utonsils or food had ever been made. It was noteworthy that no
other cases were reported of suspicious illness in the same area.
The medical evidence showed that death was actually due to
septicaemia caused by ptomaine poisoning due to the fish.
It is possible that that particular fish had become contaminated
or itself had been poisonous as apparently no other fish was
affected.
Details of the cases are given in the following table:-