Calls Swamp Med Center’s Poison Unit

The UCI Medical Center poison control center in Orange was swamped with calls Friday as nervous Orange County residents found out that Jalisco, a Mexican-style cheese, contained a bacteria which apparently caused 29 deaths in Southern California.

The phone was ringing “every two minutes,” said a poison center receptionist.

Dianne Kane, a pharmacist at the center, said approximately 70 calls were received Thursday evening and about 180 more Friday, but “very few” of the callers described symptoms that matched those caused by the bacteria Listeria monocytogenes .

“People are overreacting as usual,” she said.

Other Products

Most calls, Kane said, were regarding products other than the specific cheese in question. “Some woman called about Nabisco crackers,” she said.

Callers describing symptoms that sounded similar to the ones caused by suspected cheese bacteria were asked to call their physicians, while callers without the symptoms were told not to worry. “The symptoms overlap with a variety of syndromes . . . it may or may not be related,” Kane said. “We cannot determine over the phone the nature of their illness.”

In Los Angeles, the County Medical Assn.’s poison center near MacArthur Park had been deluged with nearly a thousand inquiries since Thursday afternoon,

One anxious mother called to say that her daughter had eaten the cheese three days ago and had been treated at a local hospital on Thursday for stomach pains. Now, the mother was feeling sick and wondered if she too should go to the doctor.

“Yes, right away,” said Frances Weindler, a registered nurse at the nonprofit Los Angeles County Medical Assn.’s Regional Poison Information Center.

Largest Number Ever Fielded

The more than 70 calls per hour handled at the L.A. center by the three staff nurses were the largest number the poison center had ever fielded, according to spokesman David Zeitlin. On a busy day the center receives 200 calls from physicians, hospital emergency room nurses and consumers seeking a wide range of advice on poison antidotes.

Most of the callers Friday were Latino, and more than half said they had eaten the contaminated cheese and were feeling ill, the nurses said.

“Whether they were sick or got sick just thinking about it, we don’t know,” said Weindler, as she tried to grab a couple of forkfuls of chow mein from a cardboard container on her desk. The carton had been there for some time, but Weindler continually pushed it aside to make room for the hefty green medical book opened to a description of Listeria monocytogenes.

A husband of a pregnant woman explained nervously that his wife had been having severe stomach pains for several days. She had eaten the cheese.

Only Basic Facts

“Take her to the doctor,” Weindler advised.

The nurses, who cannot give medical advice over the phone, were telling callers only the basic facts about the bacteria and the outbreak, and urging those who had eaten the cheese and felt ill to call their own doctors or health clinics.

As the afternoon wore on, the voices of the three nurses seemed to meld into one. “How long ago did you eat the cheese?”

“No, the doctor has to tell you that.”

“What symptoms do you have?”

“Throw the cheese away.”

Those wishing to contact the poison center in Orange County can call (714) 634-5988. In Los Angeles, it is (213) 484-5151.