Posted on 08/18/2003 10:01:11 PM PDT by FairOpinion
The number of people seeking treatment for diarrhea and related illnesses at hospital emergency rooms across New York City has risen since the blackout, the city's Health Department reported last night, prompting concerns about whether New Yorkers are eating spoiled food.
"While we do not know the specific cause of this spike in diarrheal illnesses, it is possible that it was caused by spoiled food eaten at home or elsewhere," Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, commissioner of the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, said in a statement.
A department spokeswoman, Sandra Mullin, said the increase was slight, though she said she did not know how many more cases had been seen, in which parts of the city, or their severity. She said the department was continuing to investigate the increase.
The department's Syndromic Surveillance System detected the increase yesterday and reported that diarrhea cases had been higher over the past two days. The system monitors data from 911 calls, emergency room visits and pharmacies to warn of possible outbreaks in the city.
After the blackout began shortly after 4 p.m. Thursday, city health officials warned residents and business owners about the dangers of spoiled meats, cheese and other perishable foods.
Though the increase in diarrhea cases may not be related to spoiled foods, Ms. Mullin said people need to continue scrutinizing the perishables in their refrigerators. The department recommended discarding any refrigerated foods that sat out for more than two hours in temperatures of more than 40 degrees.
At least we know the monitoring system is working.
Stay Safe !
If it's bad, throw everything out.
Keep the cheese!
(What's that green stuff? Dunno. It's either very bad meat or very good cheese!)
Bump my friend!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.