SOURCE OF POISON

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30055, 13 February 1963, Page 16

SOURCE OF POISON

Handkerchief Bacilli

Those who handled food should wash their hands after blowing their noses, the senior inspector of health in Christchurch (Mr J. B. Snoad) said yesterday. Otherwise, food poisoning could result. “Probably about half the population carry Staphylococcus aureus (golden staph) in their noses, and their handkerchiefs get full of bacilli,” Mr Snoad said. "Their hands become contaminated from the handkerchiefs, and the food is infected from their hands. The only way to break this train is for them to learn to wash their hands after using their handkerchiefs. “What is often not realised is that food poisoning is still possible even though bacilli which have infected partlyprepared food are afterwards killed in a second cooking,” he added. “The food poisoning is a result of the toxin produced by the bacteria, not the bacteria themselves, so although the bacteria may have been killed, their toxin, which is not destroyed by cooking, will remain.” Mr Snoad also gave a warning against neglecting to wash one’s hands after going to the lavatory. Typhoid, infective hepatitis, poliomyelitis, dysentery, and tapeworm infestation were only a few of the diseases which were passed on from one person to another by faecally-soiled hands, and food poisoning could also result, he said.