Authorities have identified the supplier of the chicken believed to be behind the salmonella outbreak in Lamia, Deputy Regional Governor of Health for Central Greece Andreas Toulias told STAR Central Greece. He stressed, however, that it remains essential to identify the middleman and the poultry farm as well.

“We sent an inspector accompanied by a veterinarian, and we are inspecting all the restaurants from which the suspect chickens were sold; we have checked all the employees. We’re focusing on the supplier. We found him, collected raw chicken, and sent it to a lab in Chalkida. We’re trying to trace the source because there’s an end supplier, an intermediary, and the breeding facility,” Mr Toulias said.

“I believe we won’t have any more cases; chicken is a tricky food, especially in the summer. We’ve determined where it came from and are working to ensure it isn’t sourced again, and I believe we’ve got it under control,” he concluded.

Theodoros Vasilakopoulos, chairman of the Scientific Council of the National Public Health Organisation (EODY), said the authorities had begun tracing the source of the contamination. “We have to go back quite a long way, and there are specific procedures that must be followed,” he said, adding that “usually, well cooked meat doesn’t cause a problem” and advising the public to avoid eating chicken for two to three days.

Over 30 taken to hospital, 12 admitted

According to LamiaReport, 30 patients had arrived at the emergency wing of Lamia hospital by midday on Monday with severe symptoms of gastroenteritis, including fever, vomiting and diarrhoea. Of these, 12 were assessed as requiring hospitalisation.

The same reports indicate that the patients were not connected in any way and did not dine together.

Besides the cases that presented at the emergency wing of Lamia hospital, a number of additional patients received medical attention from private doctors and remained at home rather than seeking hospital treatment.

All the patients said they had eaten at different restaurants across the city, a pattern that pointed investigators towards a contaminated batch of food, most likely chicken, supplied to multiple venues by the same distributor.

Lamia hospital had laboratory confirmation of salmonella and immediately raised the alarm, notifying EODY, which in turn informed the Directorate of Public Health and Social Welfare of Fthiotida.