Abstract
THE subject of food poisoning was once largely a series of disconnected observations and records of outbreaks ; but during the last three decades the facts have been associated and the discrepancies and fallacies removed. For example, the old expression ‘ptomaine poisoning' has been shown to be without meaning and entirely incorrect. Now it is possible to give a clear account of food poisoning, including the various causal agencies, the paths of infection and the reservoirs of the various bacteria responsible. In the first edition in 1943, the author of the book under notice gave a clearly written account of the subject, and the second edition has brought it up to date. The first edition dealt very inadequately with staphylococcus food poisoning ; but this has now been remedied by the addition of a new, separate chapter of 22 pages on this subject which gives all the essential facts. An additional section (appendix I) on laboratory investigation of food poisoning cases is of doubtful utility, as this very technical subject is mainly of interest to the laboratory worker, and for him the account is barely adequate and is available elsewhere.
Food Poisoning
Its Nature, History and Causation, Measures for its Prevention and Control. By Elliot B. Dewberry. Second edition. Pp. xii + 246 + 24 plates. (London : Leonard Hill, Ltd., 1947.) 17s. 6d.
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Food Poisoning. Nature 161, 540 (1948). https://doi.org/10.1038/161540a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/161540a0