Wild Africa Trek possible food illness. UPDATE - Final Report

[lauriel79549]

I was just wondering if you have heard anything? Are we supposed to contact them or are they contacting us? I read your post hoping at the end of January, this would all be over,,,

 

[kandb]

I am not the type of person to sue but in this case I would of retained a lawyer. I am not saying you should get $$$$$ but they should compensate you for your medical bills and give you something for the days you suffered and lost wages etc. Hopefully, they will do the right thing, but to be honest, corporations don't want to admit guilt.

 

[rkdahl]

I was just wondering if you have heard anything? Are we supposed to contact them or are they contacting us? I read your post hoping at the end of January, this would all be over,,,

Well, as we all know the wheels of government. I called Orange County Health today and asked for an update. The rep said it was still awaiting HQ approval but it was expected "shortly". She could not specify if that was 1 day or 3 weeks. So we wait. Of course I have heard nothing from Disney.

I did send a formal request via email so I will get a copy of the final report when it is released. As soon as I get that I will advise.

 

[catne]

wow...nearly 8 months and no resolution.

How the heck can the CDC get warnings out on bad spinach, etc. so fast (that the grocery stores are pulling the possibly tainted lettuce off the shelves while people are still getting sick...and they can track down the source & reason for the illness in just a few days) and yet this case takes 8 months? Someone in an office somewhere dropped the ball on this one, sounds like.

Good to hear no one else is getting sick, but geez, they could have resolved this one faster.

Thanks for coming back and giving periodic updates, OP.

 

[lauriel79549]

Great, well I for one hope we do get a little compensation,, that way I will still love Disney and be able to take my grandkids one day with Happy Feelings!! I probably will have apprehension about outings with food though,, still a little squirmish about that...

 

[finedice]

The food served on the Trek is a selection of various small portion items that give you a sample of various foods. For example they had fruit melon balls, pita bread, hummus, thinly sliced ham and beef, salmon and cream cheese roll, shrimp, an edible orchid, a bended fruit juice, a water canteen and a few other items. You can find pictures of the food by using Google and searching for Wild Africa Trek food pictures.

Everyone gets served the same meal, however different people eat different items of course. The food actually tasted very good at the time. Not so much later....

I am relatively sure this will be repetetive (I gave up halfway through page two of the thread), but had to post on this.

Many of these foods could be the culprit. Melons are very highly suspect, as the skin is often contaminated with the bacteria and that gets dragged through with a knife as it is cut. Hummus is high in carbs and protein and nice and moist enough to support rapid growth of pathogens. Obviously ham and beef can carry the bugs (the ham less likely because of the salt brine - but not impossible. The juices can even be a problem given enough time and warmh. Aside from cross-contamination, (from unwashed hands, contaminaded utensils etc.), the salmon cream cheese and shrimp are probably the safest of those items listed. I do not claim to be an expert on edible orchids.

It looks like classic time and temp abuse after an original contaminating incident took place - My best guesses would be melon or roast beef. Let us know what the Health Dept. finds...

 

[Escape Artist]

Or, the food could have been contaminated before it even got to Disney. If they know the source of the contamination, I'd love to hear it. I hope that part of the story will eventually be released.

Personally, I am *very* sensitive to questionable food - it seems to affect me more than anyone else I eat with, and it's been that way for 30 years. We did Wild Africa Trek in early January, and all the food handling seemed to be in good order. The food was served cold, and I hoped for the best and drank the juice. It was a delightful lunch experience, and even I had no problems afterward, which is pretty remarkable.

I'm sure Disney is being extra careful with food handling on the Trek these days. For anyone doing it now, I don't think you have too much to worry about. But, contamination can happen at any stage of the process, even long before it gets to Disney; I'm thankful our food supply chain is as clean as it is.

For those who were affected, thank you for sharing your story, and I hope they resolve the cases with you ASAP.

 

[lauriel79549]

Umm, yea about the food,,, I just really, really hope this food is from the USA and not actually AFrica... I was hoping we didn't contract some form of Ebola- It was the meat, mine tasted,,, odd,,, and my oldest ate the rest of mine, my youngest did not have any of the meats in her child meal,,, I know this was not crazy strain of the Norovirus,, do you know just how many kisses I got from "Princess Kassidy"? I saved for three years for this "Princess Vacation" Like I said, I am just glad we took the tour the day before we left, or else we would have been in the Disney Hospital- now that would have been a bummer!!!!!!!

 

[pixie08]

I am relatively sure this will be repetetive (I gave up halfway through page two of the thread), but had to post on this.

Many of these foods could be the culprit. Melons are very highly suspect, as the skin is often contaminated with the bacteria and that gets dragged through with a knife as it is cut. Hummus is high in carbs and protein and nice and moist enough to support rapid growth of pathogens. Obviously ham and beef can carry the bugs (the ham less likely because of the salt brine - but not impossible. The juices can even be a problem given enough time and warmh. Aside from cross-contamination, (from unwashed hands, contaminaded utensils etc.), the salmon cream cheese and shrimp are probably the safest of those items listed. I do not claim to be an expert on edible orchids.

It looks like classic time and temp abuse after an original contaminating incident took place - My best guesses would be melon or roast beef. Let us know what the Health Dept. finds...

I am pretty sure they may have ruled food out. The food comes from the kitchen at Tusker House, and upon detailed investigation nothing was contaminated in the food source or the preparation space.

Far as I heard, the feeling was that it was spreading from the water containers. Possibly a norovirus that someone had (or other illness) and when they used the refillable gift bottles to fill over and over again it infected people and containers. Anyone know if this is still what is suspected?

 

[lauriel79549]

Pixie, Do you know about the norovirus? did you read my post about how my little one did not get sick? It is not the water, if it were the water, we all would have been sick- including our tour guides. We would have infected thousands if it were the norovirus- after our tour, 30 people became sick-let me repeat- 30 people became sick. It was the meat- we already had a gentlemen on here that stated he was positive for campylobacter- Food poisoning.

 

[Twende]

DD and I took this tour the end of May. We enjoyed it and I reported on it here
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2929553

I did notice that the last poster on my thread was scheduled to take this tour on June 9th. I wonder if they got sick.

We took an extended vacation in May. We spent a week in Disney, we did a Dream cruise, we went to Costa Rica for a week and then returned to Disney.

I did get sick during the second Disney stay. I can not remember if it was before or after the Wild Animal Tour. I will talk to DD tomorrow and see if she remembers. I think I have a copy of our schedule some where.

DD and I both enjoyed the food on the tour. I think we ate every bite of it. We really enjoyed the wooden spoon thing provided with our meals. It was fun to use it to scoop up the foods. We did use the wash rags they supplied to cool off. I can not remember if we used the supplied water or if we used our own water bottles. Again I will ask DD if she remembers.

I was sick for one day, in fact really just about 14 hours. It came out of no where as we were headed to eat dinner. I went back to our resort, spent a few hours with nausea, vomiting, cramps and diarrhea, and then slept. In the morning I was fine. No one else was sick.

We had been in MK that morning and we ate at Columbia Harbor House. We shared a shrimp meal and at the time I just figured I ate a bad shrimp.

 

[pixie08]

Pixie, Do you know about the norovirus? did you read my post about how my little one did not get sick? It is not the water, if it were the water, we all would have been sick- including our tour guides. We would have infected thousands if it were the norovirus- after our tour, 30 people became sick-let me repeat- 30 people became sick. It was the meat- we already had a gentlemen on here that stated he was positive for campylobacter- Food poisoning.

Ok...sorry .Didn't see that, no need to get snippy. That why I asked for confirmation. I know food poisoning is tough (I have had it) but it would have been worse if it were norovirus then for spreading and infecting other people. This strain is a bacteria and considered an infectious disease. Campylobacter is fairly common it is on much of the chicken we eat when it is raw. It can also be passed in water. Coming from a hospitality background I can tell you this is fairly common and one of the largest causes of food poising. So case closed.

 

[lauriel79549]

Right, case closed, but it isn't and we are going on 8 months now.

 

[princessallegra]

Ok...sorry .Didn't see that, no need to get snippy. That why I asked for confirmation. I know food poisoning is tough (I have had it) but it would have been worse if it were norovirus then for spreading and infecting other people. This strain is a bacteria and considered an infectious disease. Campylobacter is fairly common it is on much of the chicken we eat when it is raw. It can also be passed in water. Coming from a hospitality background I can tell you this is fairly common and one of the largest causes of food poising. So case closed.

I don't think she got snippy at all.

 

[rkdahl]

So sticking to the facts like we always do here. The fact is until we get the final report from the Florida Department of Health we do not know what the cause was. Even though some folks here have speculated on various possible cause and effect ideas, we don't yet know the real answer. During my conversations with Orange County Health, they have never indicated to me they knew what the culprit was. They have said the CDC did not yet find any specific source either.

So we can wait for the answer together another few weeks or whatever it is, since we have patiently (or not) waited for 8 months already. I will even go out on the speculative limb myself and say there is a chance we may never know what caused this. That is the result sometimes in food borne illness cases. I hope they find it but they may not.

My only hope is that Disney settles with those of us that incurred this horrible illness. Not saying settle a lawsuit, but just reimburse us for our medical expenses and the cost of the tour and park admission that day. If they do that I will be satisfied. So we should know soon.

And as I promised, as soon as I get the final report from the health department I will post the results, including what they found for a cause and how many people actually became ill.

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[pixie08]

I do hope you get compensation, no one should get sick from poor handling of food or uncleanliness. I am genuinely curious about what happened. Rkdahl please keep us updated!

 

[lauriel79549]

Ms. Pixie, I apologize if I hurt your feelings, but Disney has hurt my feelings more.... Disney has been a part of my life since I was four,, my oldest is 20, my youngest is 9. I am 45, or will be in April...

 

[lauriel79549]

This should have been taken care of a long time ago... 30 people,,, who were sick from the Trek,,, really, is the tour money so much??? My belief that Disney stands for the love of the family is being tarnished,,, and I really wasn't trying to be snippy Ms. Pixie, I apologize to you.

 

[lauriel79549]

One more thing, after we left Florida, our plane was given to some people who were going to California, they kinda had some engine trouble,, so ,,,we flying to Lubbock are stuck,,, the airlines gives us snacks, vouchers, and even some more when we get home, they apologized,,,I had insurance for this trip,,, but come on,, the trip was done,,, the airlines made up,,, my oldest is sick,,, I did not even try to claim this,, The Health Department in Orange County contacted me...

 

[dadddio]

You guys got food poisoning eight months ago? That stinks, and all, but don't you think that it might be time to move on?