View report page

156
Report of the Medical Officer of Health.
Chronic Poisonings.
Two deaths occurred from the above, one from Lead Poisoning
in the person of a house painter, aged 43, and the other, in which
an Inquest was held, from Ptomaine Poisoning from eating tinned
pineapple.
In the latter case it was much to be regretted that no information
was given before the death of the patient by the medical man in
attendance, and it was not till after the Inquest was held that
inquiries were made.
Careful inquiry into the history of the case showed that in
all probability the death was not due to so-called Ptomaine Poisoning,
but to poisoning by tin. All the occupants of the house suffered
from symptoms of poisoning and a personal inquiry into these
symptoms strengthened the opinion I formed that tin was the cause.
Unfortunately I was not able to procure any of the fruit for analysis
as it had all Becn consumed and the tin itself destroyed. Samples
were taken from shops in the vicinity with the result that in every
one tin was found to be present, but not in excessive quantity.
The following report was made to the Public Health Committee
on the matter, and a copy of it forwarded to the Local Government
Board:—
"Report re Food Poisoning at Park Hill, Clapham.
"On Friday, August 4th, my attention was called to a paragraph
in the Daily Papers with reference to the death from so-called
Ptomaine poisoning at Park Hill, Clapham, an inquest having
Becn held on a lady who died at that adddress on the 29th July.
No previous information had Becn given to me either by the
Coroner, the medical man in attendance, or by the relations of
the deceased.
"My inquiries showed that all the occupiers of the house
partook of tinned pineapple on the 26th July, and that all suffered
from similar symptoms, viz.: colic, vomiting and diarrhoea.