FoodPoisonCaseStudyCH
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Santa Fe College *
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Medicine
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Feb 20, 2024
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docx
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Case Study: Food Poisoning, New Mexico
Name: Background
The New Mexico Health Department was consulted by an Albuquerque physician regarding two
patients, a husband and wife, who had become ill within 45 minutes of eating dinner. Their symptoms included nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, headache, fever, flushing, and rapid pulse rate. An investigation found that the couple had shared a meal of grilled mahi mahi, pasta, salad, water, and wine. In a hospital emergency room, both patients were treated with antihistamines
and ipecac. Their symptoms resolved within 36 hours of the onset of illness.
The fish had been imported from Taiwan through California and shipped frozen to the Albuquerque distributor, where it was thawed and sold from iced refrigerator cases. The patients had frozen the fish after they bought it. Later, they thawed it for 3 hours at room temperature and then grilled the still icy fish.
Questions
1.
Identify the etiologic agent of this outbreak of food poisoning.
The etiologic agent for this food poisoning outbreak is the histamine produced by the mahi-mahi fish, which is also known as scombroid fish poisoning.
2.
Was it food infection or intoxication?
It was food intoxication. Food intoxication is the result of ingesting food that contains harmful microbially produced toxins. Food infection occurs when you do not consume microbially produced toxins, but you consume live microorganisms that invade your body. 3. How did the food get contaminated, and what item was contaminated?
The food that was infected was the mahi-mahi fish. The fish was contaminated due to a
lack of continuous temperature control. Mahi-mahi needs to remain frozen at a
consistently low temperature, until ready to cook, to prevent the bacteria from
converting to the amino acid histidine to histamine. Histamine is indigestible to humans and can cause digestive issues. Histamine is also resistant to heat, so cooking the fish will most likely not prevent the person consuming it from getting sick.
4. Briefly explain how you arrived at your conclusion.
The symptoms including nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, headache, fever, flushing, and rapid pulse rate are consistent with histamine poisoning. The consumption of mahi-mahi and improper temperature control and thawing were also contributing factors when coming up with my conclusion.
5. Include at least 1 valid reference for your research in correct format (either APA or MLA)
CDC. (1998). Scombroid fish poisoning -- New Mexico, 1987. Retrieved March 29,
2021, from https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00001070.htm
Data
Food Eaten Husband Wife Daughter Dog
Fish x x x
Pasta x x x
Salad x x x
Wine x x x
Water x x x x
Ill Yes Yes No Yes
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