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26
Food poisoning
Ninety-six notified cases were investigated during the year. After
laboratory examination of faecal specimens 37 of these were not
confirmed. All the salmonella infections were single and unrelated
incidents.
The causative organisms of the 59 positive cases were found to
be the following types
Salmonella typhimurium
,, bareilly
„ panama
,, worthington
,, st. paul
„ enteritidis
,, hadar
,, bovis-morbificans
„ thompson
,, agona
,, emek
„ brandenburg
,, virchow
,, heidelberg
„ infantis
„ indiana
,,Clostridium welchii
23
1
3
1
2
4
1
2
1
6
1
1
1
1
2
1
8
The eight cases attributed to C. welchii occurred in a minor outbreak
at an Old People's Home.
Gastro-enteritis
An outbreak of acute gastro-enteritis, familiarly known as winter
vomiting, occurred in a junior and infants school in the latter half
of November. The disease was mild and shortlived in most cases,
the symptoms being stomach pain followed by vomiting and
occasionally diarrhoea. The disease affected 58 children and five
teachers. Bacteriological and virological investigations were negative.
Another school which was served with food prepared in the
kitchen attached to the school at which the outbreak occurred did
not report any cases of illness. In the routine testing of the kitchen
staff, one individual was found to be a carrier of Salmonella typhimurium,
an incidental finding not related to the episode.
Infective jaundice
Twenty-five cases were notified as compared with 104 in 1970,
there being no outbreak of the kind which occurred in a school last
year.