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and one at District Road in December. The case at Ealing Road
was treated and cleared up by her own Doctor, the case at
District Road was treated by Mepacrine and subsequently found
negative.
9. FOOD POISONING. Only two cases of food poisoning
were notified but food poisoning has shown some general increase
in the last few years. This may be due to more communal feeding,
to difficulties in maintaining the highest Standards in personal
hygiene and in the processing of food products. The
intimate association between the Central PuJblic Health Laboratory
at Colindale and the Public Health Department should assist in
solving some of the food poisoning problems and helping in their
prevention, but co-operation at every angle is necessary. Information
should be given at the earliest possible time, samples of
relevantly suspected food should be preserved and submitted for
examination, and even then it is not always possible to ascertain
the cause. In August the medical adviser of a local factory in
the Exhibition Grounds informed the Department of an outbreak
affecting some 60 workers. The Medical Officer of Health and
a Sanitary Inspector visited the canteen of the factory immediately
and in spite of the most exhaustive investigation, including
the consideration of illness amongst those who prepared food, skin
conditions, septic fingers, etc., etc., and the submission of appropriate
specimens to the Laboratory, only negative findings could
be reported, the incident commencing on Friday, 16th August and
all being back at work well again by Monday, 19th August.
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