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Posted

The report in OP is also severely misleading. The case under discussion is this here: 

N Engl J Med 2021; 384:953-963 DOI: 10.1056/NEJMcpc2027093

And the final diagnosis is 

Quote

Final Diagnosis

Meningococcal purpura fulminans.

Which is not a food-borne disease. The report linked in the article in OP was part of a diagnostic survey where folks could try to perform a differential diagnosis based on all the information provided. The article then heavily suggested a food-borne disease (and I can only speculate that the "Chinese food" angle was just to tempting to pass up). The full case was then reported in the article I indicated and revealed Neisseria mengitidis as culprit.

Sources, sources, sources...

Posted
10 minutes ago, CharonY said:

The report in OP is also severely misleading. The case under discussion is this here: 

N Engl J Med 2021; 384:953-963 DOI: 10.1056/NEJMcpc2027093

And the final diagnosis is 

Which is not a food-borne disease. The report linked in the article in OP was part of a diagnostic survey where folks could try to perform a differential diagnosis based on all the information provided. The article then heavily suggested a food-borne disease (and I can only speculate that the "Chinese food" angle was just to tempting to pass up). The full case was then reported in the article I indicated and revealed Neisseria mengitidis as culprit.

Sources, sources, sources...

Thank you for the correction. Do they know what the source of the bacteria was?

Posted

After obtaining the original report in the NE Journal of Medicine I see that there is no determination of the source of the infection. The only two mentions of the meal are:

Quote

The patient had been well until 20 hours before this admission, when diffuse abdominal pain and nausea developed after he ate rice, chicken, and lo mein leftovers from a restaurant meal.

and

Quote

On the patient’s admission to this hospital, additional history was obtained from family members. A friend who had eaten the same meal as the patient the evening before admission had vomited once shortly thereafter but had not become progressively ill.

So, yes, as @CharonY said above, the articles in the popular media misrepresent this case claiming that the source of the infection is known to be the leftovers from the restaurant meal. (It is not only the article that I've linked in the OP, there are more like that.)

Posted
16 hours ago, Genady said:

After obtaining the original report in the NE Journal of Medicine I see that there is no determination of the source of the infection. The only two mentions of the meal are:

and

So, yes, as @CharonY said above, the articles in the popular media misrepresent this case claiming that the source of the infection is known to be the leftovers from the restaurant meal. (It is not only the article that I've linked in the OP, there are more like that.)

As you said, the case study did not determine that, and they often don't in these studies, if they do not have an epidemiological angle. Typically, Neisseria meningitidis spreads via direct contact (e.g. kissing or extensive close contact). And these narratives with vaguely xenophobic undertones get high interest. I did a quick google search and even articles that mention the causative agent, still added lines about dangers of leftover food. That is is just annoying. 

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