Salmonella outbreak at primary school

More than 20 children at Pembroke Park primary in Salisbury were sent home after an outbreak of diarrhoea and vomiting at the school. Eight pupils at a Wiltshire school have been confirmed as suffering from salmonella infection.

Salmonella is a bacterial infection, most people that are infected with Salmonella develop diarrhoea, fever, vomiting, and abdominal cramps 6 to 72 hours after infection. In most cases, the illness usually lasts 3 to 7 days”most affected persons recover without treatment.

The source of the outbreak is being investigated by the Health Protection Agency and environmental health staff. Parents have been given fact sheets on the symptoms and are being asked to keep sick children away. Advice has been provided to the school on precautions to limit the spread of infection, and local GPs have also been alerted.

The Health Protection Agency says salmonella is usually caught from raw or undercooked food particularly meat, poultry and eggs or foods that have been in contact with these. The agency says person to person spread can occur, particularly when persons have diarrhoea. It can also be caught by handling certain exotic reptiles.

Irwin Mitchell currently represents a number of consumers who contracted Salmonella after eating Cadbury's chocolate. In June 2006, the Food Standards Agency forced Cadburys to withdraw a million chocolate bars from shops and supermarkets after Salmonella Montevideo was identified at one of its factories.

Cadbury were later fined £1 million in June 2007 following the outbreak which left three victims in hospital. The company pleaded guilty to nine food safety offences at an earlier hearing and was also ordered to pay costs of more than £152,000 by the Judge at Birmingham Crown Court.

If you have been affected by salmonella, contact us for free advice.