To the Editor—Food poisoning is an important gastrointestinal problem and outbreaks are commonly reported. However, outbreaks of food poisoning in medical centers are rarely reported.Reference Vinnard, Lee and Linkin 1 – Reference Metz, Jahn, Kohnen, Viertel and Jansen 3 For example, Chávez-de la Peña et alReference Chávez-de la Peña, Higuera-Iglesias and Huertas-Jiménez 2 and Metz et alReference Metz, Jahn, Kohnen, Viertel and Jansen 3 reported outbreaks of Salmonella gastroenteritis among hospital staff. One interesting situation involves outbreaks that occur during medical school conferences.Reference Vinnard, Lee and Linkin 1 Herein, the authors report a small outbreak of food poisoning that occurred among attendees of a public health thesis examination conference. During the 6-hour examination, several deserts were served to the attendees. After the conference, a medical professor and a student developed acute symptoms of food poisoning. The professor had more severe symptoms with many episodes of diarrhea and vomiting. A previous report by Vinnard et alReference Vinnard, Lee and Linkin 1 detailed a similar outbreak among medical conference attendees. Vinnard et alReference Vinnard, Lee and Linkin 1 found “multiple food source contamination as the source of the outbreak.”Reference Vinnard, Lee and Linkin 1 (p73) In the present case, the exact microbiologic cause of contamination could not be determined because no samples of the contaminated food were available for study. Indeed, most medical centers and hospitals prepare their own food, so adherence to food cleanness and safety standards is expected. However, during a conference, food is typically catered from outside sources and contamination is possible.Reference Metz, Jahn, Kohnen, Viertel and Jansen 3
Acknowledgments
Financial support. None reported.
Potential conflicts of interest. Both authors report no conflicts of interest relevant to this article.