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5
The Mass Miniature Radiography Unit is due to visit Dagenham
in the autumn of 1953. It is earnestly hoped that full advantage will
be taken of the opportunity for a check up.
food
poisoning.
What appeared to be an outbreak of food poisoning
occurred amongst guests at a wedding reception.
Out of a total of approximately 70 persons partaking
of the food I was informed that at least 34 were affected. The
symptoms were abdominal pains, diarrhoea and vomiting. The
reception commenced at 2.30 p.m. and the first guest to be unwell
had abdominal pains at about 6.30 the same evening; others commenced
during the night, some on the following day and night, and
several 48 hours after the reception.
Apparently no one was sufficiently ill to call in their doctor; not
a single notification was received.
The matter was first reported to me by a large local catering
organisation responsible for the reception, but owing to the inevitable
delay, all food, with the exception of the wedding cake, had been
consumed or otherwise disposed of.
A sample of the cake, which was made by a friend of the bridegroom,
was sent for examination and the Pathologist reported as
follows:–
Cake: Diphtheroids only grown.
Almond Icing: Non-haemolytic streptococci and B. subtilis
grown.
White Icing: A heavy growth of yellow pigmented
haemolytic staphylococci. The tube coagulase
however proved negative. In the circumstances
the staphylococci cannot be regarded
with certainty as pathogenic. The very heavy
contamination of the icing with this organism
is noteworthy.