Vomit linked to food poisoning

Food poisoning is not always caused by poor hygiene

Scientists have suggested that vomit may be responsible for hundreds of cases of unexplained food poisoning in British restaurants.

It follows an investigation into an outbreak of viral food poisoning among diners at a restaurant in a Midlands hotel.

Public health scientists from South Derbyshire health authority were called in to investigate a major outbreak of food poisoning among 52 guests at the hotel.

They were told that on one evening in December 1998 the restaurant catered for 126 people.

During the meal, one of the diners was sick. Hotel staff quickly cleaned up and the meal continued.

But three days later other diners started falling ill. In all, 52 of the 126 guests reported a range of symptoms, including fever, nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea.

We were absolutely flabbergasted to get so clear a relationship

Roy Fey, South Derbyshire Health Authority

When the public health scientists came to investigate they failed to identify any source of infection in the restaurant.

But when they began to analyse the seating arrangements they found that all of those who had become ill had been seating close to the person who had originally vomited during the meal.

A further examination of the seating arrangements found that 90% of those who became ill had been sitting at the same table.

Link

They identified a link between how close the guests were sitting to the person who had taken ill and their likelihood of becoming ill.

They found that 70% of those sitting at the adjacent table reported food poisoning symptoms within a few days.

One-in-four of those sitting on a table on the other side of the restaurant had also taken ill.

The scientists determined that the outbreak of food poisoning could be linked to the person who had vomited in the restaurant.

'Flabbergasted'

Roy Fey, one of the scientists involved in the case, said they been flabbergasted by the results.

"We were absolutely flabbergasted to get so clear a relationship. People who fell ill seem to have inhaled or swallowed the infection agent," he said.

Since completing their investigation, the scientists have come across similar cases, including one on a cruise liner.

They said they suspected that virus-laden vomit may be the cause of many mysterious food-poisoning outbreaks.

They have suggested that in an effort to prevent other guests from becoming ill, restaurant staff should clean up a much wider area than just confining their efforts to the spot where a person actually gets sick.

Talking to New Scientist magazine, Bernard Betts, director of the Microbiology Research Unit at York University, said it may be very difficult for restaurant workers to tackle the problem.

"Technically it can be quite difficult to deal with these incidents effectively.

"Just a single drop of material hitting a hard surface can produce an aerosol that travels a very long way."

Food poisoning 'sporadic'

A spokeswoman for the Public Health Laboratory Service said food poisoning is sporadic across the UK and in many cases it was difficult to identify a source.

She added that many people believe they have developed food poisoning when, in fact, they have contracted the infection from another person.

"Most cases of food poisoning are sporadic. People tend to say they have food poisoning but in many cases it may be gastro-enteritis," she said.

There are an estimated 4.5m bouts of food poisoning in the UK each year - and 60 people die.

Each case is thought to cost up to £80 to the economy and health service when treatment and time off work is taken into consideration.

This adds up to an annual bill of £350m for the UK.