London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Lewisham 1969
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Lewisham Borough]
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| Type of salmonella | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Panama | – | – | – | – | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| Enteriditis | – | – | – | – | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Stanley | – | – | – | – | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Infantis | – | – | – | – | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| St. Paul | – | – | – | – | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Virchow | – | – | – | – | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Newport | – | – | – | – | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Unamed | – | – | – | – | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Salmonella infection, not food borne | Nil | ||||||
An outbreak of food poisoning affecting 78 boys of the West Greenwich Secondary
School occurred in September, 1969.
The school is an annexe of a Greenwich school but is located in the Borough of
Lewisham and investigations into the cause of the outbreak were undertaken by
the Medical Officer of Health for Lewisham and members of his staff. Close liaison
was maintained with the Inner London Education Authority public health inspectorate.
All of the 78 boys affected were served at the first sitting of a midday school
meal and of these boys 17 were admitted to hospital. Details of all items of food eaten
by the boys were obtained, and enquiries were also made into the possibility that
substances other than those consumed at the meal had been taken by the boys.
The only item of food common to all was potato.
During the exhaustive investigations carried out during the outbreak, samples
of all food served from the school kitchen, dinner waste, specimens of blood, faeces
and urine were subjected to intensive bacteriological, virological and chemical
investigations.
Biological tests on the residue of the potato were not inconsistent with the presence
of enough solanine to have caused the symptoms, but a chemical analysis on the
remainder of this potato sample showed that the total amount found was not
excessive.
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