Fifth death linked to restaurant’s food poisoning outbreak

TAIPEI (TVBS News) — A 53-year-old woman has succumbed to multiple organ failure following a food poisoning outbreak at Polam Kopitiam's (寶林茶室) Xinyi A13 branch in late March, marking the fifth fatality in the incident, confirmed Taipei's Department of Health (台北市衛生局) on Wednesday (June 5). 

The woman, who dined at the restaurant on March 22, experienced severe symptoms including nausea, vomiting, frequent diarrhea, and abdominal distension after consuming rice noodles.

The Tri-Service General Hospital (三軍總醫院) admitted the woman to its intensive care unit, but she passed away due to liver failure before a liver transplant could be performed. 

Chen Yen-yuan (陳彥元), the head of Taipei's Department of Health explained that patients in the ICU are highly susceptible to infections, and the woman died because of liver failure.

In a related case, a 46-year-old woman also suffered from severe symptoms and underwent a liver transplant at Taipei Municipal Wanfang Hospital (萬芳醫院) on April 14. 

She is currently recovering well and is expected to be moved from the ICU to a general ward soon. This incident has raised concerns about food safety and the importance of prompt medical intervention in severe cases of food poisoning.

The community is now awaiting further updates on the recovery of the surviving patients and the measures being taken to prevent such incidents in the future.