A few days after knowing the deaths of two men who were hospitalized in Berazategui for a picture of intoxication with the bacteria shigella Y salmonellathe sister of one of the owners of the butcher shop closed by the local authorities and identified as responsible for selling the merchandise in poor condition to the victims referred to the case and admitted that she knows one of the two deceased, although she was confused for the future of events.
Laura is a relative of one of the butchers who works in the premises located at 29 and 131 of that city in the Buenos Aires suburbs. and talked about his relationship with ariel romero, one of the two men who died from what the Province is investigating as an outbreak of food poisoning. “We all grew up together, we’ve lived here for 40 years. Ariel’s death surprised us and hurt us,” he said and gave a version of what happened: “They say that he bought meat and offal here, that later they ate as a family at his brother’s house, there were about ten of them, and it is supposed that the chinchulín tasted bad and did not eat it; and then it decomposed”.
“I heard yesterday that he had said that he tasted bitter and that he told the family not to eat it, but he said he didn’t eat it either; it’s weird. I don’t really know what happened, everything is under investigation now. I think he died last Thursday and here on Tuesday, January 17, the Bromatologists came, they took samples of meat and they were going to analyze it; there they closed the place because it did not have the papers, it seems to me that it was not enabled “specified in dialogue with C5Nimplying that the closure of the premises was not due to the contaminated meat but due to the lack of the corresponding documentation.
The woman said that from that moment they had no further news on the case and added that the Commune agents would have approached the business to tell her brother that “everything is fine.” “What’s more, he already has all the real estate papers to present on Monday and see if he can already open and enable,” she remarked.
In this context, and although the health authorities indicated that the second of the deceased bought the meat and contaminated offal in the same place, Laura ruled out that option: “We understand that he did not buy meat here at any time, we do not know him. According to the woman, Ariel’s was the only case detected due to the sale of her products: “The entire neighborhood that bought meat in this butcher shop is perfect, even we ate roast that day, we celebrated my brother’s birthday. We even ate with him brother of his in my house and we are all well. It is strange that the whole neighborhood has happened only to him, “he assured.
“As far as we know, nothing happened to anyone else,” he emphasized and spoke about the possibility that Ariel already had health problems before consuming the offal he bought at the store: “I don’t know if he would be hurt by something else and it complicated something; they are blaming the chinchulín. The sisters themselves already said that it came with other problems”.
THE HEALTH WARNING
This last Friday, The Ministry of Health of the province of Buenos Aires and the Municipality of Berazategui reported that they are investigating a possible wave of food poisoning in that Buenos Aires district, based on four cases reported to the health portfolio and two of which turned out to be fatal..
The health authorities urged the health teams of both the municipality and other neighboring districts to strengthen epidemiological surveillance and immediately notify the portfolio that leads Nicholas Kreplak of all inquiries from people, of any age, with a history of diarrhea, vomiting or symptoms compatible with food poisoning.
The two cases that ended in the death of the affected patients were registered in the first three weeks of January and correspond to two men aged 36 and 48 who were admitted to the Evita hospital with symptoms of diarrhea, vomiting and other symptoms compatible with food poisoning. Town. Both reported having eaten meat and offal from the same butcher shop that had already been identified. This situation was reported to the Department of Bromatology of the Municipality of Berazategui, which proceeded to take samples of merchandise, send them for analysis to the National Service for Agro-Food Health and Quality (SENASA) and the National Food Institute (INAL) and closed the establishment. pointed out for lack of health.
As detailed, to detect the contaminant in question, samples were taken from the patients who were referred to the ANLIS Malbrán National Reference Laboratory and other food already in INAL’s possession. The experts confirmed the presence of Salmonella typhimurium in the body of the first of the deceased and of Shigella and Salmonella in the case of the second.
HOW TO PREVENT POISONING?
Within this framework, the provincial authorities not only disseminated recommendations for health professionals but, above all, for the general population:
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Use safe water. If it is not tap water: add two drops of bleach per liter of water or boil it for 2 to 3 minutes or use purification tablets.
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Wash hands with soap and water after using the bathroom, after changing diapers, and before breastfeeding. Also before and after preparing food (especially after touching raw meat) and eating it.
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Maintain hygiene in food preparation.
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Use fresh, clean, well-cooked and recently prepared food.
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Vegetable washing: carefully wash and disinfect fruits and vegetables with safe water, especially if they are eaten raw and, if possible, peel them.
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Cook food well: eggs until they have a hard consistency. If the eggs have a strange smell or taste, do not eat them.
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Meats must be well cooked inside and out, until they completely lose their pink color, taking special care with minced meat, hamburgers, meatballs, empanadas, meatloaf, offal, etc. Correct cooking: cook completely until there are no pink parts inside and its juices are clear (minimum 71°C in the center of the piece).
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Do not eat meat if it has a bad smell when preparing it or if it has lost the cold chain. Meats should not be thawed more than once if they have been fried.
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Do not use the same knife, board or counter where raw meat was resting to cut other foods, without first washing them with water and detergent.
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Avoid cross-contamination: In food preparation areas, clean and sanitize surfaces, cutting boards, and utensils after they have come into contact with raw meat and/or its juices.
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Separate raw meats and/or their juices from ready-to-eat foods, mainly during purchase, storage, and preparation.
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Consume milk, dairy products and juices that are pasteurized.
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Keep fresh and cooked food in the fridge.
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Avoid taking medications without medical indication and homemade infusions.
THE VIRAL AUDIO
False news had circulated in several WhatsApp groups during the afternoon of last Thursday to alert that the same cuts had been distributed in butcher shops in our city. “Apparently, the meat came from a refrigerator in Berazategui that also distributes to La Plata. Just in case, avoid those meals until the sales follow-up is over.”was the warning that went viral on social networks, but sources from the Buenos Aires Ministry of Health told 0221.com.ar who are working on the issue and remarked that in the region “no cases of poisoning from eating meat and offal were registered”.
According to these same sources, the two deceased people had no relationship but the product they ingested would have been ingested in the same store. “We cannot confirm that the bacteria were in the meat they ate”detailed however the doctor Martin Garaycocheaassociate director of the Evita Pueblo hospital, in dialogue with TN.com.ar and added: “We made the complaint to Epidemiology of the Municipality and Bromatology, samples are taken from different places and sent to SENASA and INAL for analysis and they will determine where the bacteria is.”
Given what happened, in the health center they reinforced the hygiene and care prevention measures in food handling, the conservation of their cold chain and the correct and frequent washing of hands. “The first thing with food is to maintain the cold chain, the second is to see the origin of the food and the degree of contamination it may have. And in the event of an episode of diarrhea you have to hydrate yourself and consult your doctor”closed the specialist.
