A 53-year-old man is in a coma after he was infected by the Group B Streptococcus bacteria that was reportedly acquired from a bowl of yusheng-style raw fish porridge.
Sim Tharn Chun had bought the dish from a food center on Nov 15.
Four days later he was rushed to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital. From initially having body aches and diarrhoea and vomitting, his legs swelled and he almost lost consciousness. He is said to be suffering from meningitis, reports MyPaper.
Blood tests confirmed the GBS infection.
There had been several cases of GBS infections in mid-2015.
In July, the National Environment Agency asked food stalls to stop the sales of raw fish dishes using Song fish (Asian Bighead Carp) and Toman fish (Snakehead fish) as response to these cases.
According to the report, the boss of the yusheng porridge stall that Sim patronised said there were no incidents of GBS infections linked to the stall in the past 20 years and that the fish served at his stall are handled with gloves.
While GBS does not usually cause disease in healthy individuals, it may occasionally cause infections of the bloodstream, skin and soft tissue, joints, lungs and brain, according to the Ministry of Health.
“As a general precaution, vulnerable groups of people, especially young children, pregnant women, elderly persons, or people with chronic illness such as diabetes, should continue to exercise caution by avoiding raw ready-to-eat food,” it said.
Photo: Teri Y via Yelp
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