Salmonella outbreak affects Mexico City General Hospital

Forty-one resident and specialist doctors remained hospitalized in stable condition after a gastroenteritis outbreak at Mexico City’s General Hospital, where laboratory tests confirmed Salmonella in the cases examined.

The hospital said the outbreak emerged on Aug. 31 after a sudden increase in gastrointestinal symptoms. In total, 135 doctors reported abdominal pain, diarrhea, slight fever and vomiting. Two of the cases also showed coinfection with enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli, or ETEC.

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The event was identified on August 31, when a sudden increase in people with gastrointestinal symptoms was recorded.

Officials temporarily linked the outbreak to food supplied by the hospital’s contracted cafeteria and suspended the service immediately. The hospital said it had launched a search and follow-up program for people who may have been exposed. An epidemiological and health investigation continued to identify the specific source of contamination and determine further prevention and control measures.

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In around five years as a resident, I have received good treatment from the cafeteria staff, the food is good and they help us financially.

Resident doctors gave different accounts of the cafeteria and the seriousness of the outbreak. One resident, who asked not to be named, said the food was good, staff treated doctors cordially and the free meals helped reduce their expenses. The doctor said 24 of those affected worked in surgery and eight in endoscopy, and that colleagues received appropriate care from the beginning. The resident also said one doctor was in intensive care.

Surgeon Adrián Rivas wrote on X that 10 residents were in intensive care. He said it was not the first such incident and claimed doctors had told him that isolated cases occurred regularly, though this outbreak affected more than 150 people. The hospital said all hospitalized doctors were stable and under medical observation.

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This is not the first time. Several doctors have confirmed to me that every so often there is one case or another, but this time there were more than 150.