Vol. 485 No. 3
199 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for Health and Children the number of reported and investigated incidents of food poisoning for the year of most recently kept records; the number of people involved; the type of poisonings identified; and the source of the infection in each case. [23376/97]
Under the Infectious Diseases Regulations, 1981 suspected cases of food poisoning, bacterial other than salmonella, or salmonellosis, other than typhoid or paratyphoid, are reported to my Department. However, statutory responsibility for the investigation of such cases rests with the health boards and information on the number of people involved or the source of infection is not routinely collected by my Department. In 1996, 276 cases of food poisoning and 678 cases of salmonellosis were reported.
