possible WDW food poisoning?

[danniebellie]

The other information you posted is correct, but some of this information is not. I bolded what is not. I am certified in Infection Control, currently working as an infection Control Nurse. I also worked in Public Health for 14 years and did a lot of investigations of possible foodborne ourbreaks during that time.
Hot water is not necessary for washing hands and is actually harmful because it strips the natural oils from the hands and can cause skin problems (drying, cracking). Water hot enough to actually make a difference to the germs on hands would cause skin burns. Soap is formulated to work best in warm water, so that is best (and safest to the hands) to use. If you don't have warm water, cold is OK too. The scrubbing action actually loosens germs and the running water rinses them away.

Alcohol Hand Sanitizer is safe and effective. It kills almost all the germs (not just the easy to kill ones or the beneficial ones) and it does not encourage the growth of the most dangerous germs. It does not kill most bacterial spores (but, soap doesn't either - friction and running water get rid of those).
It is extensively used in hospitals because it does a good and fast job of killing germs, is fast to use and leaves hands in better shape for most people than soap and water does. BUT, alcohol is for use on hands that are not visibly soiled and not soiled with body fluids or protein (ie, after using the restroom). It kills germs, but it is not a cleaner. So, it can't clean those things off the skin to get to where the germs are.
Antibacterial soap or hand sanitizers that use Triclosan to kill germs are not recommended by Public Health/Infection Control. There are theories/evidence that they lead to the development of resistant organisms (those hard to kill germs). Triclosan kills germs in the same manner as many antibiotics, so use of products containing that have been thought to lead to antibiotics not working as well and there is some evidence to show this is the case.

Alcohol hand sanitizers can have a place in Food Service and are allowed in some states for specific purposes. (Not all states allow it).
But, there are many situations where they are not a good choice and should not be used.
Food Service workers often have wet or damp hands. Alcohol should not be used with wet or damp hands because the alcohol will get diluted and the full 'dose' of alcohol would not get to the hands.
Food service workers also often have protein based material on their hands (things like meat or poultry juices, etc). Alcohol doesn't work well in the presence of protein based material, so hands soiled with those should be washed.

Thanks, Sue. This is very helpful. I was glad to see someone post these guidelines. I edit science and health education textbooks, and often run into issues with writers who want to tell kids that they must wash their hands in HOT water. I can't tell you how many people think I'm nuts when I try to explain that the most important part of the hand-washing act is the *rubbing*. Even if there's no soap, rubbing your hands briskly for 20-30 seconds under running *warm* water will go a very long way.

Anyhoo... Thanks for your clear and thorough post.

 

[pollywacket]

Two years ago I was treated to a character breakfast at one of the Wild Kingdom's restaurants. This was my first day at WDW and it was the day after my birthday (64). Approximately two hours after the meal I was taken out of the park via an ambulance and spent three days at Celebration Hospital. I was put on IVs immediatley and continued to vomit and have bloodied movements to the point where I was told that I may have to have a transfusion. I was on liquids for all but 1 of these days, the last day. I left the day after I was discharged so I could get home to my doctor. I contacted WDW about the "event" and they grudingly sent me replacement for my 7 day parkhopper tickets of which I used once to get into the park. In order to litigate you must have an attorney who practices in Florida, I live in Pennsylvania. Food poisoning is very hard to prove and Celebration would not state it as such (Celebration is owned by Disney). The lesson learned, never eat quiche unless you know the cook.

 

[CanadianGuy]

The lesson learned, never eat quiche unless you know the cook.

That brought a smile to my face.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

Approximately two hours after the meal I was taken out of the park via an ambulance and spent three days at Celebration Hospital

How awful that your vacation turned into a 3-day stay at Florida Hospital Celebration Health.

Food poisoning is very hard to prove and Celebration would not state it as such (Celebration is owned by Disney).

The implication that the doctors at Florida Hospital Celebration Health allow Disney to dictate their diagnoses is ludicrous (and insulting to the doctors).

Florida Hospital Celebration Health is not owned by Disney or run by Disney, and never has been. Disney is not in the medical care business.

It's true that the Town of Celebration is on land that was part of the original 27,400 acres acquired in the 1960s under the direction of Walt Disney. The Celebration Company, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, is the developer of Celebration. Over the years, Disney has sold off assets in Celebration. Around a half dozen years ago, Lexin Capital, a private real estate investment company, bought Celebration's town center. Disney doesn't run the town or its businesses, and certainly not its hospital.

 

[doconeill]

The lesson learned, never eat quiche unless you know the cook.

That brought a smile to my face.

I think avoiding quiche regardless of who the cook is is wise

And as Horace said, about the only thing Disney and Florida Hospital Celebration Health have in common is that Disney designed and originally owned all the land in Celebration, and put out a request for proposal for a hospital to be built and operated in Celebration, and Florida Hospital was granted the rights. And I believe it is the closest trauma center to WDW.

ERs generally won't confirm food poisoning because it is difficult to pinpoint that as the exact cause, and even then determine the exact source. Although a suspected case will be recorded for reference, without additional cases from the same source they won't confirm it.

Although it is not impossible to suffer from a food-borne pathogen in less than two hours, it is extremely uncommon, although the acuteness of your symptoms seem to indicate a rapid and serious infection, usually something that fast indicates a possibly chemical origin, or a biologically-produced toxin more than a true food poisoning episode (bacteria infection) - not that matters to the sufferer

Some food-borne illnesses can take days to show, making pinpointing the source extremely difficult.

 

[Orlando313]

My sister contracted Ecoli from Japan at Epcot. She ate there for lunch and that evening she started feeling bad. During the night she started vomiting violently and turned gray. Thankfully my mom was staying in town with us or I would have never thought that she needed to go to the hospital. They admitted her straight to ICU from the emergency room with kidney failure. She was in ICU for several days. She hadn't had any food that morning because she planned on eating an early lunch, and she didn't have anything that evening because she was already starting to feel weird. The doctors finally diagnosed her with ecoli, and said it was most likely from her lunch, but if not, she had eaten Disney meals the day before as well. She never pursued anything with Disney though. We go almost every weekend, so if we go to Epcot, she can't even walk by Japan without feeling ill. She doesn't eat any asian influenced food anymore, which is so sad because I think it's yummy!

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

My sister contracted Ecoli from Japan at Epcot. She ate there for lunch and that evening she started feeling bad.

If she began experiencing the symptoms of an E. coli infection in the evening, then it's very, very unlikely that she ingested the E. coli bacteria at lunch the same day.

The usual incubation period for E. coli is 3 or 4 days after exposure to the E. coli bacteria, although in can be longer (as much as 10 days) or shorter (as little as 1 day). You might want to do some Google searches to read up on E. coli.

We go almost every weekend, so if we go to Epcot, she can't even walk by Japan without feeling ill. She doesn't eat any asian influenced food anymore, which is so sad because I think it's yummy!

In her case, the restaurant at which she ate lunch that day in the Japan pavilion at Epcot is almost certainly not the cause of her E. coli infection.

While it's human nature to blame the most recent meal for any illness that resembles food poisoning, it's usually not that easy.

Perhaps, if your sister reads up on E. Coli, she can once again enjoy the Japan pavilion at Epcot. Maybe she will even give "Asian-influenced food" another chance.

Disclaimer: I am not a doctor.

 

[Orlando313]

If she began experiencing the symptoms of an E. coli infection in the evening, then it's very, very unlikely that she ingested the E. coli bacteria at lunch the same day.

The usual incubation period for E. coli is 3 or 4 days after exposure to the E. coli bacteria, although in can be longer (as much as 10 days) or shorter (as little as 1 day). You might want to do some Google searches to read up on E. coli.


In her case, the restaurant at which she ate lunch that day in the Japan pavilion at Epcot is almost certainly not the cause of her E. coli infection.

While it's human nature to blame the most recent meal for any illness that resembles food poisoning, it's usually not that easy.

Perhaps, if your sister reads up on E. Coli, she can once again enjoy the Japan pavilion at Epcot. Maybe she will even give "Asian-influenced food" another chance.

Disclaimer: I am not a doctor.

No offense, but I would trust what the doctor's told her over reading up stuff over the internet.

Have you ever gotten sick after eating a particular food and then never wanted that food again? Well, it's happened to me, and it happened to my sister, and I guarantee you she will never eat asian food again.

For me, it's licorice. Ugh.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

No offense, but I would trust what the doctor's told her over reading up stuff over the internet.

I really doubt the doctor told her, "You picked up the E. coli bacteria today at lunch and immediately developed symptoms this evening, even though the usual incubation period for E. coli is several days."

I agree that I would trust a doctor's diagnosis much more than the self-diagnosis that some Internet users like to do. You'll notice I'm not questioning the doctor's diagnosis.

However, there are websites with excellent, factual medical information. Such sites can provide useful information to patients about their illnesses.

Doctors seldom sit down with their patients for 20 minutes discussing details of a diagnosis. The information they provide is normally about the treatment for an illness, not about how the patient might have come down with the illness and what the normal incubation period is before symptoms appear.

Have you ever gotten sick after eating a particular food and then never wanted that food again? Well, it's happened to me, and it happened to my sister, and I guarantee you she will never eat asian food again.

For me, it's licorice. Ugh.

Yes. As, I said, it's human nature. I ate at a restaurant in Los Angeles County 25 years ago. I still remember what I ate and how sick I was a few hours later. (It wasn't as serious as E. coli, but I was sick for several days, and you don't want to hear the symptoms.)

I never went back to that restaurant. However, I also know that I probably did not get sick from that meal. I would not make a libelous statement about that restaurant asserting that they served me a meal that gave me food poisoning.

I don't think it's fair to make a libelous statement about the restaurants at the Japan pavilion at Epcot based on a misunderstanding of the incubation period of E. coli.

 

[Orlando313]

I was not making a libelous statement. That's the statement that the doctor made. You take it however you want to take it. After being in the hospital for over a week and being assigned 4 different doctors at the same time, I'm telling you, I believe the doctors.

I think it's a risk anyone takes when eating out. When you can't see or control who or how your food is being prepared, it's always a gamble. Is that going to stop me from eating out? No it isn't, but there's always that possiblity whether you eat at WDW, McDonalds, or your grandma's house.

This is a post about getting food poisoning from Disney, I shared my experience. If you want to argue with the doctor's word, then take it up with Florida Hospital, but they are the ones that went to school for years, so they are the ones that I believe, as I said previously.

 

[lovethattink]

I am wondering if it could be something with the water? Are they putting more chemicals in the drinking water at the treatment plants since the aquaphors are so low? My husband has been feeling sick to his stomach for a week, with several bouts of diarhea and nausea. My oldest son, last Saturday spent all day on the toilet with a sick stomach. Thursday it was me all day, and almost every time I eat, I am running to the bathroom but then feel fine til I eat again. We live in central Florida.

 

[acourtwdw]

I have been to WDW over 50 times since 1992. The only time I have ever been sick is when I have eaten too much food or too rich of food. A lot of guests are consuming food that they don't normally eat. I'm not discounting any one's illness but everyone is so quick to jump on the blame bandwagon, that sometimes we just shouldn't have eaten whatever it was and need to take a look at what we are eating and how much of it.

Just my 2 cents....

 

[disneyworldaddict]

Could be the food, that could ahppen anywhere, but more than likely its just a stomach virus. The virus is running rampid where I live in NJ and according to a friend in Italy, its there too. Its not uncommon for 2 people to contract a virus at the same time and be sick at the same time, so I'd be more inclined to think its that.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

I was not making a libelous statement. That's the statement that the doctor made. You take it however you want to take it. After being in the hospital for over a week and being assigned 4 different doctors at the same time, I'm telling you, I believe the doctors.

What did the doctor say?

Did the doctor actually pinpoint the source of the E. coli to be your sister's lunch that day? (Again, it normally takes several days for symptoms to appear.)

Or are you making an assumption based on a doctor's general statement about how E. coli is spread?

You're making a serious charge about a restaurant at Epcot.

 

[imLissy]

I trust the collective intelligence of thousands of people on internet over one doctor. I've had some really stupid doctors.

 

[ConcKahuna]

I trust the collective intelligence of thousands of people on internet over one doctor. I've had some really stupid doctors.

I've met stupid doctors, but I've met a LOT more stupid people on the internet...

 

[doconeill]

I've met stupid doctors, but I've met a LOT more stupid people on the internet...

I've been on the internet for 25 years. It is full of us...er, them...

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

I am not suggesting that anyone should trust the medical knowledge of average Internet users more than that of highly trained, experienced doctors.

What I am suggesting is that there are reliable websites, such as the Mayo Clinic website, that are excellent places to learn more about illnesses that doctors diagnose.

For example, the Mayo Clinic has section about E. coli organized into numerous tabs. The tab about the symptoms of E. coli includes this sentence: "Signs and symptoms of E. coli O157:H7 infections typically begin three or four days after exposure to the bacteria, though you may become ill as soon as one day afterward to more than a week later."

I have no idea how the conversation between the OP's sister and the emergency room physician went. I just find it hard to believe that the doctor said, "You were exposed to E. coli bacteria at lunch today. That's where you got it."

It usually takes a fair amount of detective work for public health agencies to pinpoint the cause of E. coli outbreaks. One reason for this is the long incubation period.

My reason for belaboring this point is that I hate to see "Japan at Epcot" accused of serving contaminated food. I would hate to think that readers of this thread would avoid these restaurants based on what is probably a misunderstanding of what a doctor told a patient.

 

[ConcKahuna]

I am not suggesting that anyone should trust the medical knowledge of average Internet users more than that of highly trained, experienced doctors.

What I am suggesting is that there are reliable websites, such as the Mayo Clinic website, that are excellent places to learn more about illnesses that doctors diagnose.

For example, the Mayo Clinic has section about E. coli organized into numerous tabs. The tab about the symptoms of E. coli includes this sentence: "Signs and symptoms of E. coli O157:H7 infections typically begin three or four days after exposure to the bacteria, though you may become ill as soon as one day afterward to more than a week later."

I have no idea how the conversation between the OP's sister and the emergency room physician went. I just find it hard to believe that the doctor said, "You were exposed to E. coli bacteria today at lunch today. That's where you got it."

It usually takes a fair amount of detective work for public health agencies to pinpoint the cause of E. coli outbreaks. One reason for this is the long incubation period.

My reason for belaboring this point is that I hate to see "Japan at Epcot" accused of serving contaminated food. I would hate to think that readers of this thread would avoid these restaurants based on what is probably a misunderstanding of what a doctor told a patient.

Oh, I agree with you 100%. There's a reason the E. coli outbreak from the contaminated spinach took so long to identify and contain.

 

[Orlando313]

I am not suggesting that anyone should trust the medical knowledge of average Internet users more than that of highly trained, experienced doctors.

What I am suggesting is that there are reliable websites, such as the Mayo Clinic website, that are excellent places to learn more about illnesses that doctors diagnose.

For example, the Mayo Clinic has section about E. coli organized into numerous tabs. The tab about the symptoms of E. coli includes this sentence: "Signs and symptoms of E. coli O157:H7 infections typically begin three or four days after exposure to the bacteria, though you may become ill as soon as one day afterward to more than a week later."

I have no idea how the conversation between the OP's sister and the emergency room physician went. I just find it hard to believe that the doctor said, "You were exposed to E. coli bacteria at lunch today. That's where you got it."

It usually takes a fair amount of detective work for public health agencies to pinpoint the cause of E. coli outbreaks. One reason for this is the long incubation period.

My reason for belaboring this point is that I hate to see "Japan at Epcot" accused of serving contaminated food. I would hate to think that readers of this thread would avoid these restaurants based on what is probably a misunderstanding of what a doctor told a patient.

Like I said before, I am not going to argue with you about it. I truly don't care what you think about our situation. I doubt me sharing my experience would cause anyone to not want to eat there, it doesn't make me not want to eat there. Obviously, I should just keep my mouth shut and not share any experiences since the Disney-does-no-wrong people are out to prove me wrong.