Health Department falls victim to food poisoning at office party

Some health department workers in southern Illinois think they may have discovered some contaminated food - at their own office Christmas gathering.

After the Lawrence County Health Department had a buffet for 72 people at a restaurant last week, 42 of the attendees suffered stomach problems, including the head of the department, Phyllis Wells.

"I'm telling you, it got me down. I about passed out and everything else," Wells said yesterday. "It's not been funny. It's taken the punch out of my whole Christmas."

Wells says the cause of the outbreak hasn't been pinpointed. But she suspects the culprit was a norovirus - something people get from contact with those infected, ingesting contaminated food or drink, or by touching contaminated items and then their mouths.

For now, Wells says the common denominator appears to be cold diced ham served in the salad bar.

"It may be that just a food handler was sick at the time and handled some of the food they prepped for the meal," she said. "Or maybe it was somebody who was sick who came to it and touched the handle and contaminated it."