WALL GECKO CONTAMINATION OF A BOARDING SCHOOL MEAL SERVICE: AN OUTBREAK INVESTIGATION AND HACCP APPLICATION

Abstract

Macroscopic reptile contamination in institutional mass catering threatens food safety, triggers severe institutional anxiety, and introduces complex public health challenges. This report details the field investigation of a wall gecko (Gekkonidae) contamination event within a boarding secondary school and evaluates the application of a Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) framework. Following an institutional alert regarding a dead reptile found in a bulk food service cooler, a multi-disciplinary field investigation was conducted 36 hours post-incident. Methodology involved key informant interviews with food handlers, students, and administrative staff; an environmental walkthrough audit of the kitchen, dry store, and dining areas; and a retrospective cohort study (N=182) to analyze exposure-illness associations. A dead, physically intact wall gecko was discovered during a food replenishment service of oil and rice at a specific dining table. Retrospective cohort analysis identified two cases of mild, non-febrile, watery diarrhea within 24 hours. The attack rate among the exposed cohort was 10.0% (1/10), compared to 0.58% (1/172) among the unexposed cohort. The association between developing gastrointestinal symptoms and consuming food from the contaminated cooler was not statistically significant (OR = 19.00; 95% CI: 1.01–356.55; p = 0.099). Structural and operational audits identified poor kitchen illumination, unmeshed ventilation crevices, exposed cobwebs in the dry store, and a lack of standardized covering protocols during food display and dishing intervals as primary risk factors. The presence of a wall gecko in institutional food service highlights critical vulnerabilities in operational hygiene. Mitigating these risks requires rapid administrative transparency, immediate clinical surveillance, and the systematic institutionalization of a proactive HACCP framework.