Kebab man blamed for illness

By MONIQUE DEVEREUX

A worker at an Auckland kebab restaurant has been identified as the most likely source of an outbreak of salmonella.

Eleven cases of the rare Montevideo strain of salmonella food poisoning were reported in Auckland in September, prompting an investigation by Auckland Healthcare's Public Health Service.

A worker at a Middle Eastern restaurant tested positive as a carrier of the infectious disease. Under the Food Act, he is not legally allowed to work until he is free of the disease.

Public Health will not name the restaurant because the source of the problem was identified and treated, and the poisoning was not directly related to the food products the restaurant used.

No cases of salmonella have been reported since the food worker was identified.

The man is understood to back at work after providing three clear faecal samples. He was off work for five weeks.

None of the other staff tested positive for the disease.

Public Health physician Dr Greg Simmons said 11 cases of salmonella at once was a significant outbreak.

Typical symptoms of the disease include diarrhoea, stomach pain, headache and nausea. Symptoms can last several days.

He said the food worker was not affected by the poisoning despite being a carrier. The man was identified as the "most likely" source of the 11 poisoning cases, although Dr Simmons said it was not known where he originally contracted the salmonella.

The Montevideo strain of salmonella was rare, he said. Only four to seven cases were reported nationally each year.

The outbreak has prompted a food safety campaign targeting kebab outlets, due to begin soon.

Dr Simmons said such outlets had more potential for salmonella because meat was often cooked at a relatively low temperature.

Cross-contamination could happen if fluid from uncooked meat dripped into the juice tray.