Press Release

Update on suspected food poisoning case at primary school in Sha Tin

2 February 2016

The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health today (February 2) provided an update on its investigation announced last Friday (January 29) into a suspected food poisoning outbreak (This link will open in a new windowhttp://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201601/29/P201601291031.htm) affecting a primary school in Sha Tin, and reminded the public to maintain personal, food and environmental hygiene to prevent food-borne diseases.

Upon follow-up investigations, the CHP identified an additional 122 affected students, comprising 67 boys and 55 girls aged from 6 to 13, and one female staff member. They developed gastroenteritis symptoms including diarrhoea and abdominal pain about 30 minutes to 99 hours after having lunch at the school on January 27. Five of them sought medical attention and none required hospitalisation. All the affected persons remain in a stable condition and have recovered uneventfully.

This brings the total number of persons affected to 144 so far, comprising 80 males and 64 females aged from 6 to 50. The CHP has alerted the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department to the incident and the investigations are ongoing.

To prevent food-borne diseases, schools and institutions are advised to:

• Choose and monitor food suppliers carefully; and
• Hot foods should be kept at above 60 degrees Celsius while cold foods should be kept at 4 degrees Celsius or below.

The CHP would also like to remind members of the public to maintain personal, food and environmental hygiene at all times. When dining out:

• Eat thoroughly cooked food;
• Do not leave cooked food at room temperature for more than two hours;
• Patronise only reliable and licensed restaurants;
• Do not patronise illegal food hawkers;
• Drink boiled water;
• Always wash hands before eating and after going to the toilet;
• Avoid eating raw seafood;
• Be a discerning consumer in choosing cold dishes, including sashimi, sushi and raw oysters, at a buffet;
• Use two sets of chopsticks and eating utensils to handle raw and cooked food; and
• Do not try to use salt, vinegar, wine and wasabi to kill bacteria as they are not effective.