Wild Africa Trek possible food illness. UPDATE - Final Report

[Mich Mouse]

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?

I think if Disney is resonsible for their illness they should be responsible for providing these families with reimbursement for their loss.

 

[pequele]

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.

Yes considering Carnival hasn't even gotten their stranded passengers off their ship yet and said long ago they were getting refunds, I think Disney has dropped the ball.

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?

Not when Disney should have taken responsibility for it 8 months ago. Not to mention the CDC etc are involved. It isn't just a tummy bug.

 

[pixie08]

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.

No worries. I understand, this is a touchy subject. I can only imagine what you went through. I was just asking, not assuming. I want to know what happened as I too find it ridiculous this occurred, especially if it were food poising or virus from food (as opposed to the norovirus which is harder to control). Then it is 100% Disney's fault, and that is not acceptable. Apology accepted! Good luck, I hope they do right by you.

 

[lauriel79549]

I called Disney guest claims yesterday and left a message with the coordinator who is in charge of my claim. She never called back , so I called again and left her my work number. I think I can see how this is going to go...

 

[lauriel79549]

My claims coordinator called me, my faith is being restored in Disney, and Thank God because I love Disney. She promised when the report is finalized, she would call all people immediately. So, I guess we are just waiting on time.

 

[Ron Nelson]

does anyone know if anyone has been sick since? i have my family going on the Trek in 2 weeks and this worries me or i just take our own water and snacks.

 

[rkdahl]

does anyone know if anyone has been sick since? i have my family going on the Trek in 2 weeks and this worries me or i just take our own water and snacks.

Ron, I would not personally be concerned about any illness at this point from this tour. The original outbreak started almost 9 months ago and Disney has done numerous things to prevent this from occuring again. There have been no Trek reported illnesses that I am aware of since August of last year.

My personal feeling is that this is resolved. I would not hesitate to particpate in the Trek again myself. I was also the person that started this thread and one of the 3 original people who reported the illness to the health department.

 

[rkdahl]

The Florida Department of Health released it's final report today on this food borne illness outbreak that began in June 2012. I have added a link to the download for those that would like to review this report. A large amount of work went into this food borne illness investigation. Some data from the CDC is still outstanding. The report I and my 2 friends that became ill submitted, triggered the initial investigation.

The exact cause of the illness was not identified. However, some high correlation on data points indicated some likely causes. It looks like approx 600 people who took the Wild Aftica Trek were attempted to be interviewed. Of these, 117 people became definitively ill. This included both guests as well as 11 Trek guide cast members.

It appears there were two breakouts of illness, one in early June and another in early July. After reading the report it seems to conclude the two outbreaks were not specifically related and had different symptoms.

Disney instituted numerous modifications to their food handling process as a result of the investigation and outbreak. No known illness have been reported since August 2012.

I have included a link to the final report for those that would like to review it:
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/19948123/Orange 4812009.pdf

Since this was released this afternoon I have not heard any response yet from Disney on their next steps regarding our claims. I would hope that would be forthcoming shortly and will contact them soon.

If anyone has any questions please let me know.

 

[padkins]

The part that really surprised me was they found "black mold in the preparation sink, improper use of thermometer, improper hand washing, no hot water in hand washing sink, dirty slicer, etc"
I would have thought disney's standards would be high and that doesn't seem so high to me. It was a very interesting report to read though. I can't believe 117 people got sick in such a short time.

 

[Deb & Bill]

The part that really surprised me was they found "black mold in the preparation sink, improper use of thermometer, improper hand washing, no hot water in hand washing sink, dirty slicer, etc"
I would have thought disney's standards would be high and that doesn't seem so high to me. It was a very interesting report to read though. I can't believe 117 people got sick in such a short time.

If they inspected my kitchen, they would probably find more than that. But no one has gotten ill from my kitchen. Kitchen inspectors have a seriously long list of what they inspect. I don't expect the Disney kitchens to look like the ones on Kitchen Nightmares, but I would expect them to be maintained by humans who do make errors from time to time.

We did the tour in October and none of us became ill. We all ate all of the food that was provided. These two incidents appear to be isolated.

 

[dp911]

If they inspected my kitchen, they would probably find more than that. But no one has gotten ill from my kitchen. Kitchen inspectors have a seriously long list of what they inspect. I don't expect the Disney kitchens to look like the ones on Kitchen Nightmares, but I would expect them to be maintained by humans who do make errors from time to time.

We did the tour in October and none of us became ill. We all ate all of the food that was provided. These two incidents appear to be isolated.

So your house is filthy? They listed some pretty nasty findings on that report. I am a clean freak and almost puked when I read it. hopefully those people are highly reimbursed for their troubles. Shame on Disney

 

[xbonnie38]

I had something similar happen to me Christmas 2011 , hubby and I dined at a restaurant in Epcot ( shall remain nameless) and woke up in the middle of the night horribly ill and spent the next day confined to the hotel room, it was not pleasant. We did report it while we were there and Disney was wonderful about it, they sent a nurse to our room twice to make sure I was okay and the front desk manager called the room also to check on me. The nurse they sent to the room , (she was called something else but for the life of me I cant remember I was pretty out of it) said I was not the only person that had come down with something, and others had reported the same symptoms, this apparently is why they were so attentive. We were not looking for any compensation, these things happen and could happen there or at any restaurant anywhere for that matter. But needless to say the rest of the trip I barely ate anything and when I did eat it was very little. So it does happen ,doesnt surprise me.

 

[ThreeBeans]

I really hope there is not black mold in your sink, you have running hot water and you wash your hands properly


117/600 people is horrifying

 

[SamSam]

Dh and I, along with another couple did the tour at the end of Sept. (2012), we ate everything and none of us had a problem.

 

[padkins]

Sounds like they made several changes in the trek so I wouldn't hesitate to take it. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Now, the week that followed... not so much. I'll spare you the details but I've never been so sick. I didn't know what was going on.
Anyway the trek itself was great!

 

[Deb & Bill]

So your house is filthy? They listed some pretty nasty findings on that report. I am a clean freak and almost puked when I read it. hopefully those people are highly reimbursed for their troubles. Shame on Disney

I really hope there is not black mold in your sink, you have running hot water and you wash your hands properly


117/600 people is horrifying

No, my house isn't filthy. But have you ever seen some restaurant kitchens? I worked in several. None of them were as bad as Kitchen Nightmares, but keeping them 100% spotless 100% of the time is very difficult. So when an inspector shows up, the inspector might find something. What was the score on the report? Even a 90+ score will have some items on the list.

There could have been a build up around the faucet or handle on the sink. It doesn't state where the "black mold" build up was located other than on the preparation sink. Most of the violations in the inspection were non-critical.

When a report says black mold, it might be in the drain area. And "black mold" doesn't necessarily mean stachybotrys.

In addition, if you read the full report, there are other possibilities for contamination. Such as sharing binoculars, refilling the souvenier thermos, etc.

 

[larryz]

Whether it was the food, or the drink, or the binoculars, all of the potential vectors were controlled by WDW.

IMNSHO, WDW should make the people who got sick whole. They missed vacation days stuck on a toilet -- they should be comped tickets and lodging.

 

[minnie mum]

Since the report seems to be stating that Disney has taken all the necessary steps to avoid a repeat of the situation that caused the reported illnesses, I won't comment. Seems little point.

Deb and Bill- nice catch on the fact that not all black mold is stachybotris. I was just going to post the same thing.

OP, I am so glad to hear that you finally have the report at long last. Hopefully you will now get closure from Disney on your claim. I hope you'll let us know when this happens.

ETA: Did anyone else happen to notice this little tidbit in the report:

During the outbreak case definition time period, in Orange and Osceola County on average 302 ± 25 people were seen daily for gastrointestinal illness in emergency departments.

Over 300 people PER DAY is normal???? Holy crap!

 

[bumbershoot]

117/600 people is horrifying

Worse, it's not 600, but 117 of the "approx 600 people who took the Wild Aftica Trek [that] were attempted to be interviewed."

No, my house isn't filthy. But have you ever seen some restaurant kitchens? I worked in several. None of them were as bad as Kitchen Nightmares, but keeping them 100% spotless 100% of the time is very difficult.

During our recent trip, we happened to be walking from the Dolphin (post car-drop-off) to Epcot. As we passed the bakery that's closed right now, the construction area opened and a guy pushing a big cart came out. On the cart appeared to be some sort of above-the-stove ductwork, and it was absolutely hideously disgusting. I mean caked-on *something*. Dust covered in grease covered in dust? DH, DS, and I all saw it, and exchanged "ewwww" glances with the construction guy who said "that's why it's being replaced!" (or something similar). We watch Restaurant Impossible often, and they show disgusting kitchens sometimes, and that's what it reminded us of.

I've never been more glad that that bakery just doesn't seem to ever have anything for us to eat than at that moment.

ETA: Did anyone else happen to notice this little tidbit in the report: Over 300 people PER DAY is normal???? Holy crap!

FWIW, my MIL has been hospitalized a few times in the last few years for GI problems. The GI problems always seem pretty serious to me, though a lot of it is because MIL is extremely dramatic, doesn't like to "bother" us with a simple doctor visit, and will be sick for days, not eating and not drinking and not telling anyone, while her blood sugars go absolutely beyond wonky. It has generally been an incoherent call with her daughter that gets us called (by DH's sister), which usually results in us calling 911 while racing to meet them at her place or the hospital. That's how sick she gets.

Anyway, the hospitals have NEVER seemed to act like this is at all surprising or out of the ordinary.

And they have never once figured out what organism it's being caused by. Nor do they really care. They are perfectly happy to just take care of her the next time it happens, and don't seem to think it's important that we clean out her fridge or anything like that, or find out if it's because of, well, anything. They just don't care.

So I'm not surprised that a huge tourist area like that sees 300+ per day.

 

[Sammie]

It is not uncommon in the Florida heat and on vacation for travelers to experience gastro distress.

Be it due to contamination, or heat or eating too much of a food they are not used to, would be very hard to know for sure.

I am assure you if I went on the Trek during that heat and ate those particular foods, I would be sick within hours, from no one's fault other than the heat and type of food.

I can assure you Disney takes food preparation safety highly and certainly more so than many places we all eat at on a regular basis.