This is Captain Kimberly our medical officer
and these are some of our men were eating their evening meal as usual at the end of
another routine day just another day
but believe me what followed turned out to be anything
but routine this me only the beginning of our story a story
that developed during the night
and continued for several days during the early part of the night we all went about
our duties.
Everything was nice and smooth
and quiet the way we like to see things run at
midnight about forty of us in the duty section got a light meal.
It was just about this time that things were beginning to happen.
It began like this.
At first a few of the men who worked in the duty section got sick.
More followed suit. And just before dawn.
Most of the men who had the midnight meal joined their ranks.
You never saw such a sick bunch of men in your life.
And it got steadily worse bombing abdominal pains and diarrhea.
It was hard to tell which cause the most trouble. One thing is your.
Boys were well taken care of some of them at the base infirmary
and others at a private hospital in town.
Or while all we had time to do was bring it was sick
and some of them were plenty sick get them in bed
and leave them to Captain Kimberly
and his assistant.
It was pretty rough going for a while bombing diarrhea cramps
headache sweating prostration fever and the United rage.
Yes Our No I can make you plenty sick.
Just this soon as we got the chance to let up
and breathe a little we got down to the business of finding the cause of all the
problems. Naturally we had suspected some kind of food poisoning
and so it was like here.
This is what we've found these are some of the organisms of the species high beam
your ear which were isolated from a patient stools best for.
In the lapse of time between our patience last meal and the outbreak of illness.
It was pretty evident
that the evening meal old were responsible for the presence of a solvent of
organisms in the stew specimen.
In the meantime our laboratory was working on samples of food eaten that night.
Sampling a few baiting plaiting transfer.
And then more incubators laboratory examinations require time
and it may take several days to identify the organise
our results show that the other foods were OK
but the samples of leftover chicken
that the gravy reveal the same bacteria as the stool specimens up the pace.
Or these two were thoroughly contaminated with salmonella piping in Peoria.
Oh and when did the chicken then the gravy become contaminated with the organism.
Well here's one thing we'll have to assume but it's a pretty safe assumption one
or more of these chickens were contaminated by the sound of organize all they don't
sigh and very likely inside.
And of course they'll never get rid of our prime suspect.
During the cleaning operation this cutting board was undoubtedly contaminated.
After the chickens were put in the album.
The giblets were cooked separately on top of the stove.
And the cutting board was cleaned.
But why cleaning it got maybe we should just say
that the salmonella organisms were more completely distributed over its surface
and embedded in the cracks.
While the giblets were cooking a white gravy was prepared
and then the giblets were taken from the stove.
Thorough cooking had killed the salmonella organism.
But this good clean food was Rican terminated on the cutting board as it was taught.
Then Lee is Rican terminated giblets were put into the grape
this contaminated gravy was not read it was prepared for service
and on the steam table.
There wasn't enough heat to kill the organised in
but there is a good chance they began to grow
the story was much the same with the chicken.
He killed the salmonella organisms in the oven.
But again the young clean cutting board contaminated the safe chicken meat as it
was carp
or serving.
There was this much delay in getting the chickens or.
And between the gravy and the chicken.
We're going to come for the men who were sick around midnight
or soon after those acute cases
that occurred later form another chapter in our story here is how
the next chapter go left over from the evening meal was saved for the midnight meal
and during this lukewarm steam table the salmonella organisms continued to grow
and to make matters worse the cutting board contributed a new bunch of organisms as
the leftover chicken was prepared for service.
So that by the time the midnight meal was served the chicken
or liking was supporting large numbers of salmonella organism enough to make the
man on the night watch so violently ill.
What could have prevented this sickness and suffering.
We couldn't know that the chickens were in fact not here.
This is the detergent. This is hot water. This is a bright.
These are ham put them together use them
and get a clean cutting board with all the trouble makers washed off a good
scrubbing immediately after the raw chicken was prepared gotten rid of the
salmonella or organise or if this applies to our hands than anything else
that might be contaminated by contact with the fall we made some other mistakes to
the leftover chicken should have been put into the refrigerator as soon as possible
and the gravy.
It was cooked before the contaminated giblets were added thorough cooking after
they were added. Kill the salmonella organism.
The Air Base mess all accommodated the men in three shifts approximately one
hundred fifty at a time out of some four hundred fifty regular personnel
one hundred seventy three became infected with sound on the last of which eighty
four were seriously ill enough to be hospitalized.
All effected complete recovery
and were back on duty within several days to about two weeks.