View report page

88
been infected by some of its feeding stuff. Many of these organisms have
been introduced to this country from abroad in foodstuffs of different
kinds, including the dried eggs so very welcome during the war, Chinese
eggs used so much in the bakery industry, and coconuts. Whatever
improvements are brought about in the way food is handled, food poisoning
will continue to occur until the answer is found to the control of the
importation of these organisms from abroad.
The Public Health Laboratory Service publishes each year a report
about food poisoning in England and Wales based on information
obtained from reports of pathologists in the Public Health and the
Hospital Laboratories and reports made by Medical Officers of Health
to the Ministry of Health.
For some years now the outstanding problem has been the control of
the spread of salmonellae. To this end studies of eggs and egg products,
meat and meat products, food stuffs and fertilizers, were being made in
the hope that food could be protected from contamination, or that any
contaminated could be adequately treated.
The report for 1960 has just been published. There was a reduction o:
eighteen per cent in the incidents (general outbreaks, family outbreaks and
sporadic cases) compared with the previous year. The decrease was
specially noticeable in incidents caused by salmonellae other than
salmonella typhimurium which were down as much as forty-three per
cent. This reduction is mainly accounted for by decreases due to those
types which in recent years have been isolated from egg and meat products.
Whether this pressages a permanent fall in incidents from these products
will not be demonstrated for some years, but it is hoped that it is an
indication that egg products and meat products such as boneless beef,
boneless veal and sausages are being produced with greater regard to the
risks of infection. The reduction in incidents due to staphylococci is all the
more gratifying as there were many outbreaks associated with canned
meats from abroad in which the meat was contaminated before the cans
were opened. It ought not to be difficult to prevent this type of trouble.
Had it not been for these, there would have been a substantial fall m
staphylococcal outbreaks. A small reduction in the number of incidents due
to C1. Welchii was recorded. Of the outbreaks in which the vehicle of
infection was noted, all but one were associated with meat, gravy and
stock. Reheated meat, particularly stews, stocks and Shepherd's pie and
cold meats were most frequently contaminated.
Locally there was a further fall in the number of cases of food
poisoning notified. The twenty notifications related to thirteen incidents,
there being four occasions when more than one person was involved an
nine single cases. Where any organism was recovered, it was almost
invariably salmonella typhimurium.
The first cases were two children of a family who fell ill at the same
time while the rest of the family remained free. The next were two children