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specimens were taken and enquiries made at the adjoining modern
school kitchen and dining-room.
All the cases were apparently associated with the second sitting
and none from the first sitting, nor from the same meal sent out to
the adjoining infants department and St. George's R.C. school.
The enquiries at the school kitchen revealed that a female
worker had recently been unwell and that a male porter suffered
from cracked hands following from his employment. The specimens
from the former were later reported to be negative, but the
man with cracked hands revealed the presence of faecal streptococci
and he was put off work.
The visits paid to the absentees revealed that abdominal pains
started on the afternoon of the previous day with diarrhoea during
the night and a quick recovery on the Friday.
The suspected meal on the Thursday consisted of boiled boned
mutton with gravy and vegetables, bakewell tart with custard. In
accordance with the usual practice, the sample meal which is always
retained, was sent for examination together with 35 other specimens
from patients, i.e., three adults and 32 children.
The outbreak proved to be due to a bacterium known as C1.
welchii which is comparatively common in meat as supplied from
trade sources. A major difficulty is that this bacterium, under
certain conditions, transforms itself into what is known as a spore,
which is then heat resistant. As soon as conditions become more
favourable for growth, the spore germinates and the bacterium
multiplies. Fortunately most cases are comparatively mild and no
more cases were reported after those of the first day.
The bacteriological examinations have been carried out at the
Central Public Health Laboratory, Colindale, and Dr. Betty Hobbs,
the authority on food poisoning, has been good enough to visit
Walthamstow for a full discussion including a visit to the school
kitchen. Dr. Hobbs has emphasised that the essential measure
necessary is to cut down as far as possible the interval between
cooking and consumption. The great difficulty is the time taken to
carve meat for, say up to 300 portions. The sliced meat is placed
in covered containers on a hot-plate, but unfortunately the temperature
maintained on those containers is not sufficiently high to
prevent the growth of this particular bacterium.
Certain suggestions have already been made including the
retention of the gravy at near boiling point and its addition to the
meat at the last possible moment. The surfaces of the hot-plates
do not appear to maintain a sufficiently high temperature, but Dr.
Hobbs proposes to visit the kitchen to carry out further
investigations.