Hoogenboom-Verdegaal AMM ,
During M ,
Bosman A ,
Klokman-Houweling JM ,
Kippersluis CJM van
29 p
in Dutch
1992
Toon Nederlands
English Abstract An outbreak of food poisoning with Clostridium
perfringens occurred among 48 British tourists visiting Amsterdam, june
1992. Thirty-nine cases of illness (nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhoea
occurred among 41 tourists who attended a meal on June 6, at an Amsterdam
Chinese restaurant. No symptoms of illness were reported from 7 tourists
that did not eat at the Chinese restaurant. An epidemiologic investigation
was conducted by the Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre (CDSC),
Colindale, London. CDSC reported this outbreak to the Foodborne Disease
Coordinating Centre at the National Insitute of Public Health and
Environmental Protection (RIVM), Bilthoven, the Netherlands. A full
inspection of the restaurant had been carried out at once by the Amsterdam
Inspectorate of Health Protection (KVW) and the staff was interviewed. It
was necessary to take enforcement action by way of an Improvement Notice.
Samples of the environment and various foods/ ingredients were taken for
bacteriological examination. The Public Prosecutor will consider the advice
of the KVW to undertake preventive measures. Clostridium
perfringens-enterotoxin was detected in 6 out of 7 faecal samples taken from
the British tourists. No such evidence was found in the food and
environmental samples, taken 6 days after the meal at the restaurant. It
was agreed that RIVM would translate the CDSC- questionnaire in order to
extend the epidemiologic investigation if possible to a group of Dutch
quests that visited the Chinese restaurant on June 6th. Although a
tour-operator was initially willing to contact a group of 30 customers, they
finally decided to deny all cooperation to the investigation. After a
discussion with the Department of the Chief Medical Officer of Health
(Division of Infectious Diseases), it was decided that there were no further
means of action for the RIVM to identify the group of Dutch
restaurant-quests.
