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ONE OF THE country’s top public health doctors has warned that a recent outbreak of salmonella in north Dublin is the largest single outbreak in the country over the past decade.
The HSE’s assistant national director for public health Dr Kevin Kelleher warned people to take extra food safety and hygiene precautions following the outbreak last week, which left at least five people hospitalised.
“We get on average somewhere between 200 to 500 cases of salmonella a year over the past decade,” he said.
“This is largest outbreak we’ve had over a single period of time.”
To date, 50 people – including four children – have fallen ill following a number of separate family parties held over the weekend of the 13 and 14 May. Out of these, 16 people have been confirmed as having salmonella.
The parties all received food from a single catering source – Flanreil Food Services Ltd.
Flanreil operates the kitchen at O’Dwyers Bar & Grill – also known as the Golf Links – on Strand Road in Portmarnock. It also provides outside catering services.
The HSE and the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) became aware of the outbreak on Thursday, 18 May. The FSAI served a closure order on Flanreil Food Services Ltd on Friday, 19 May.
Swords woman Sandra Murphy O’Brien died suddenly on Sunday, 21 May a week after attending one of the affected functions (a communion party). It is not confirmed if she died from salmonella.
Speaking today on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Dr Kelleher warned people to remain extra vigilant when cooking and preparing food, and to contact their doctor if they felt they were suffering from food poisoning.
“It’s very clear this is an issue where it is both caused as a consequence of eating food but it’s also passed on by person to person contact, and that’s why people need to be very scrupulous about their hygiene,” said Kelleher.
He said that diarrhoea was one of the most common and quickest symptoms to appear.
“That comes on quite quickly, so [in the] majority of people it would be known by now,” he said.
He said that people needed to take extra care when cooking chicken and minced beef and the make sure the food was cooked through.
Kelleher said that the HSE and FSAI had only identified one source of the outbreak so far. It is believed poultry was the source of the food poisoning which caused the salmonella on this occasion.
The investigation into the outbreak in ongoing.
Affected people are told to contact their GP if they have any concerns regarding their health.
People who think they may be ill as a result of this outbreak may also contact the HSE’s Environmental Health Service or Department of Public Health in Dublin to assist in the investigation of the outbreak.
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Why are you warning “people” to cook meat correctly – warn the cooks/chefs in our hospitality industry.
@John Flood: John, there lies the problem. People want to cater at home and get their supplies from Catering Companies but unfortunately home appliances are sometimes not up to the job of cooking for large amounts of people. How many people test the temperature of food at home before serving it ?
@John Flood: Cooks & chefs are “people” too. Most people cook at home. Home isn’t exempt from this.
@John Flood: I suppose some is cooked at home…
@John Flood: never happen on the south side lol.
Some heads will need to roll after this.
I never got the “rare” cooked meat or steak tartare thing myself. Aside from bacterial contamination undercooked meat may carry parasitic eggs which will not be killed if the temperature is insufficient.
@Permo Dermo: Depends on what you’re cooking. Steak (assuming its fresh and from a reputable source) only needs to have the areas that have been exposed to the air cooked as it doesn’t tend to carry parasites or harmful bacteria, unlike chicken or pork. Tartar (or rare hamburgers) are risky, but even a blue steak is very unlikely to cause harm
Obviously no HAACP paperwork done.
@RJ.Fallon: you’ll find it’s done alright, with the same copy and paste job as yesterday. It is at best negligent and at worst criminal to have done this. Beyond scandalous. At least the names of those involved are out so we can
A V O I D.
@: Agreed,I should have said,if HAASP is used by conscientious staff, committed to their work. And hopefully,most are. Plus ,I know that Food Safety inspectors are ruthless in their checking of these records.
@: so if you buy a chicken in Tesco and under cook it and give your family salmonella, do you name and shame Tesco ?
I love chicken curry
@paul kelly: I’m glad for that..
@paul kelly: I like turtles.
Just getting over a bad dose of food poisoning from chicken goujons I had yesterday. Bought frozen, cooked for 45 mins in the oven, puking my ring for 12 hours shortly after in between the sweats and the chills. Horrendous.
@Jimmy Ireland: Get well soon. I once had food poisoning for months, a rare bug that 99% of people wouldn’t be bothered by. That was a nightmare, all I could think of was food but I couldn’t eat any. Ended up in hospital on a drip and a few days later eventually managed to eat half a piece of toast. Nothing had ever tasted so great. It was one of the best meals ever! I’ll never take buttered toast for granted again.
Was the chicken in this case cooked by the caterers and then reheated at the communion parties? Presumably it was and it would then fully have been the catering company at fault.
Any catering company selling chicken resulting in a salmonella outbreak should be shut down permanently
@@UK: I don’t know about that. People do leave food out for hours in warm weather. There’s food poisoning every summer. Maybe they needed a spare fridge for the day?
I had a bout of Salmonella that I picked up after travelling in Vietnam. Got it on my last day there. After all those weeks of eating local street food etc, it was the bloody western style cafe that I went to on the last day there… Thankfully the worst didn’t kick in until i got back to Ireland. It was awful. Wouldn’t wish it on anyone!
Why don’t they ever say the pains in your stomach will be terrible as well. They never say this.
@Rockhopper617: I don’t think other people want to hear all the gory details, that’s why. Also, if it goes on for long enough, your potassium levels plunge and your shins feel as if they’re about to snap when you walk. Seriously, once you’re better, I think the last thing you want is to dwell on how sick you were, you’re just delighted to feel human again, without putting other people off their food.
have your say