Salmonella found in two Russian boys after Mid-Autumn Festival mass poisoning

Tang Chi Thuong, director of the HCMC Department of Health, on Thursday said the samples were taken from two Russian brothers living at the Palm Heights apartment complex in Thu Duc City.

Both ate various types of food at the complex's Mid-Autumn Festival party on September 29, and went to a private clinic on October 1 with symptoms of fever, stomach pain, vomiting and diarrhea. Many others experienced food poisoning after the Mid-Autumn Festival party.

Both boys, aged 6 and 10, had stool samples taken and PCR tests revealed the presence of Salmonella spp. Both have now recovered.

A 6-year-old girl, the child of an employee of the apartment complex, experienced severe symptoms and died. Her mother and older brother also experienced food poisoning symptoms, but they were not severe and did not require hospitalization.

The tests were conducted by a private clinic to see the cause of the food poisoning. However, they were insufficient for the HCMC health department to confirm the cause of food poisoning for around 50 people who consumed food at the party. Tests are underway to figure out the pathogens responsible for the mass poisoning.

Salmonella bacteria (red) in an undated color-enhanced scanning electron micrograph. Photo by Reuters/Rocky Mountain Laboratories/NIAID/NIH

HCMC health experts said cream puffs available at the party might have been responsible.

The cream puffs were produced at a facility in Tan Phu District, and were sold at a bakery in Binh Thanh District. Both locations have food safety certificates. 230 cream puffs had been delivered to the apartment complex on September 29 in the morning, stored in the fridge and taken out for consumption in the evening.

Salmonella is among the top causes of gastrointestinal diseases, and can cause symptoms like high fever, headache, fatigue, loss of appetite, and violent diarrhea.

The bacteria can survive in water for two to three weeks and in excrement for two to three months, but is destroyed within five minutes at 100 degrees Celsius or with common disinfectants.

An investigation is ongoing.