Salmonella found cause of Bulacan food poisoning

CITY OF MALOLOS—Livestock cages stacked at a garage near a kitchen may have been the cause of the salmonella outbreak that downed 220 people celebrating a birthday in a village in Calumpit town on June 12, health officials said here on Wednesday.

Jocelyn Gomez, Bulacan public health officer, said officials found chicken and dogs roaming freely around the garage and kitchen of the house in Barangay Meysulao, where a large gathering celebrated the birthday of a 2-year-old boy.

She said they also found that the cage containing a pair of pigeons was located 10 meters from the kitchen, where the family prepared home-cooked spaghetti, hotdogs and fried chicken for guests.

Gomez said the garage is near the kitchen, so it also served as an extension area for food preparation.

In a public health report sent by the inspection team, the Bulacan health office said that salmonella infection develops when a person consumes food contaminated with fecal bacteria.

The report said the presence of salmonella bacteria was detected in 30 of 192 victims who were tested by the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine.

Fecal samples from chicken and pigeons kept at the Meysulao were also submitted to the Philippine Animal Health Disease Diagnostic Laboratory, Gomez said.