Friday, August 20, 2010

Does the hospital report cases of food poisoning to public health

Does the hospital report cases of food poisoning to public health?
My friend suffered a near-fatal bout of food poisoning from a restaurant, but she didn't end up suing them. My concern is for the public health: would the hospital have reported this to some sort of health department or to the restaurant itself? Or should my friend be doing more to make sure this doesn't happen to other people who eat there? Please, please, any timely answers would be great because this is a rather timely issue (every day nothing is reported, people could die). Thank you
Other - Health - 2 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
I think it depends on the laws in your area. But I think most laws require the hospital to report it to the health department. That could result in an extra inspection or a fine etc. I know when I had an almost fatal bout of food poisoning they questioned my parents about where I could have gotten it from. As it turned out the most likely suspect was from my aunt's cooking. So of course there was nothing the could from that stand point.
2 :
She should report it to the local Board of Health. Or call the CDC (Center for Disease Control) in Atlanta.