![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Letter to managers of Radisson Hotel, San Jose Airport
Dear Sirs,
I am writing in regards to the food-poisoning I suffered at your hotel on the night of August 31, 2005. I previously met with _____ _________ and one other person about it (I can't find the business cards currently). I later got a phone call from Mr. _________ saying he had a few more questions, but I haven't been able to reach him by phone.
A summary of the incident is as follows:
I ordered a seafood platter from room service because I was planning on staying in and working all night preparing for a web seminar being filmed at Apple Computer in the morning. The order was sometime around closing time for room service. Around a half hour later, I started showing symptoms of scombroid poisoning, which is described below. I've underlined the symptoms I developed and a few other important points:
Definition
Scombroid is a fish-associated illness caused by eating improperly handled fish. Fish linked to this disease are usually in the Scombridae family, which includes yellowfin tuna, skipjack, bonito, and mackerel.
Causes & symptoms
Scombroid occurs after eating fish that has not been properly refrigerated after capture. Unlike ciguatera, the toxins linked with scombroid are not contracted by the fish from its surroundings. Bacteria that are normally found in fish act directly on a chemical (called histidine) in the flesh of fish that are not properly cooled when stored. This interaction produces histamine and other chemicals that cause the illness when the fish is eaten.
Symptoms of scombroid occur quickly after eating the fish, as soon as 10 minutes. Since histamine is released by certain cells in the body during an allergic reaction, scombroid can be confused with a fish allergy. Scombroid causes flushing of the face, sweating, a burning feeling in the mouth or throat, vomiting, diarrhea, and headaches. A rash that looks like a sunburn may occur, and a small number of patients have hives. Some patients have a metallic or peppery taste in their mouths. In more severe cases, rapid pulse, blurred vision, and difficulty breathing can occur. Symptoms usually last about four hours.
Diagnosis
Like ciguatera, scombroid poisoning is diagnosed based on typical symptoms occurring after eating fish. There are usually no available tests for the patient. ...
Treatment
The treatment for scombroid is usually general. Antihistamines like diphenhydramine (Benadryl) may shorten the duration of the illness, but the illness will go away on its own. ...
Prognosis
Although sometimes dramatic and alarming symptoms can occur, scombroid is usually not serious. The patient should be reassured that scombroid is not a fish allergy.
Prevention
Adequate storage of the target fish will always prevent scombroid. Since the fish does not appear spoiled or smell bad, the consumer cannot detect the risk of the illness before eating the fish. Cooking the fish does not prevent scombroid. Suspected cases should be reported to public health officials.
— taken from http://www.chclibrary.org/micromed/00048440.html
I didn't know what the problem was at the time, but was rather alarmed to have about 2/3 of my body covered with a bright red mottled rash, as that isn't what one wants to look like when being filmed for a seminar, and the other symptoms were alarming too. I eventually decided it was probably food poisoning, and went to the front desk asking them where the nearest emergency room was.
There were several problems with the response to this request:
- It took a few minutes, and when someone needs to get to an emergency room, a few minutes is a long time.
- They provided me with a hand-drawn map eventually, to a local medical center (I believe it was "Santa Clara Valley Medical Center", but I don't remember for sure.)
- The map they drew had one wrong turn, resulting in some driving around lost.
- The medical center happened to be one that treats people without insurance, and as a result was packed. I arrived somewhere around 12-1am, and there had been people there waiting since 5pm. I asked one of the people waiting there and they advised me to go to Kaiser Permanente instead, since the latter served people with insurance and waits were usually shorter.
- I didn't have a map to this, so spent about an hour driving around before I found it.
- Kaiser had about ¼ of the people, but it also had long waits. I waited there until about 4am, but never got called. My symptoms had subsided by then, so I returned to the hotel to try to cram some work in.
I don't fault the people at the desk - they were just trying to help. But it would have been much better if they had had photocopies of maps and directions to all local emergency rooms, including notes about probable waiting times / insurance / etc, plus phone numbers. I suggested this during the meeting with Mr. _________ and the other manager, but don't know if it was implemented. I didn't feel quite bad enough to call an ambulance, and didn't think of it anyway.
I was assured that a full investigation would be done to determine the cause of the incident, but haven't heard anything yet. There is absolutely no doubt that it was scombroid and that it was from the hotel room service: I had a majority of the very-characteristic symptoms, onset time, and duration; that was the only seafood I ate that day; and I learned during the meeting that one of the things on the platter was tuna, which is a fish that often shows this problem.
In addition to the food poisoning, there were also some other issues that I would normally overlook, including:
- Finding a bag of wet coffee grounds in the coffee pot filter cup.
- Had some lights that didn't work, or only worked sometimes.
- Found lots of black specks when I tried to use the coffee pot to brew hot water for tea (they didn't look like coffee grounds).
- Had some similar black specks floating in the bottom of the iced tea I ordered.
My overall impression from the food poisoning and the above minor issues was that there were severe quality issues throughout your hotel. Regardless of whether or not that was the case, I certainly didn't feel like staying there any longer.
Mr. _________ said he would look into refunding my 3-day Hotwire-prepaid hotel bill. I haven't seen a refund and assume that Hotwire policies or computer systems don't permit that. If that is the case, I would appreciate your hotel sending me a check for the amount paid. (The check can be sent to me at the company address on the first page.)
The payment details are as follows:
[...]
I would also like to hear the results of the investigation into the cause of the incident (email or fax – see first page), and what measures have been taken to ensure it doesn't happen to someone else.
I want to emphasize that I'm not trying to get anyone in trouble – my dealings with the staff were generally courteous and professional. But food poisoning is very serious, and the incident caused hours-long delays for a dozen people at Apple due to lost work time, and nearly ruined the whole purpose of the business trip, which would have had significant marketing repercussions for us. Consequently, I don't feel like I can just let the matter drop without hearing more.
Regards,
John Williams
no subject
But you knew that.
And *squee*--Kate Bush lyric!
no subject
go jodawi.
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
Scromboid poisoning is, according to my medical toxicology class from a few years back, the most common hospital-level poisoning. It's also just about the easiest one to prevent with good food care.