Growing concern surrounds the surge in salmonella cases in Lamia, as an increasing number of residents are presenting at the city’s General Hospital with symptoms of acute gastroenteritis. According to the latest reports, by midday approximately 30 people had been examined in the Emergency Department, presenting with high fever, vomiting, diarrhea, and severe discomfort. Of those, 12 were deemed to require hospitalization.
Read also: Lamia: Salmonella outbreak alert — official hospital announcement
Salmonella in Lamia: patients have no known connection to each other
At the same time, a number of additional cases were treated by private physicians and remained at home, following medical guidance. Of particular concern is the fact that the patients, according to available information, do not know one another and do not appear to have shared a common dining venue — a circumstance that makes it significantly harder to immediately identify the source of the infection.
Health authorities are actively investigating the situation, and the results of ongoing inspections are expected to determine the origin of the outbreak and allow for the necessary measures to be taken to protect public health.
Contaminated batch of chicken likely the common source
Reports indicate that all patients stated they had eaten at different restaurants and food establishments across the city — a detail that points to a contaminated batch of food, most likely chicken, supplied by a common distributor.
It should be noted that Lamia General Hospital laboratory-confirmed the presence of salmonella and immediately raised the alarm, notifying EODY (the Greek National Public Health Organization). EODY, in turn, informed the Phthiotis Regional Directorate of Public Health and Social Welfare, which will begin conducting inspections at local food establishments in order to trace the source of the outbreak.
Meanwhile, serious concern has been raised over the supplier of the contaminated product, which is being distributed in the meat market. Most alarmingly, it is believed that the infected batch may not have been supplied exclusively to the city of Lamia. This makes it all the more urgent to swiftly identify the supplier and recall the contaminated products from the market, as a broader public health risk is reported to exist.
