************************************************************
The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health today (June 27) provided an update on its investigation announced yesterday (June 26) into two suspected food poisoning clusters. All affected persons had consumed food at a restaurant in North Point on June 25.
Subsequent to its follow-up investigations, the CHP has newly identified five clusters with 22 affected persons comprising nine men and 13 women aged 5 to 78. They developed abdominal pain, vomiting and diarrhoea about three to 30 hours after having dinner at the restaurant. Sixteen of them sought medical consultation and two were admitted to hospitals. All of the affected persons are currently in stable condition.
This brings the total number of persons affected to 36 so far, comprising 13 males and 23 females aged 5 to 79. The CHP has alerted the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department to the incident and the investigations are ongoing.
To prevent food-borne diseases, members of the public are reminded to maintain personal, food and environmental hygiene at all times. When dining out:
* Avoid eating raw seafood;
* Be a discerning consumer in choosing cold dishes, including sashimi, sushi and raw oysters, at a buffet;
* Ensure food is thoroughly cooked before eating during a hot pot or barbecue meal;
* Handle raw and cooked foods carefully and separate them completely during the cooking process;
* Use two sets of chopsticks and eating utensils to handle raw and cooked food;
* Patronise only reliable and licensed restaurants;
* Do not patronise illegal food hawkers;
* Drink boiled water;
* Do not try to use salt, vinegar, wine and wasabi to kill bacteria as they are not effective; and
* Always wash hands before eating and after going to the toilet.
Ends/Monday, June 27, 2016
Issued at HKT 20:00
NNNN
