Contaminated taro chips brought into the country from Samoa were initially feared to have caused a deadly typhoid outbreak in Auckland - but three months later, the real reason remains a mystery. In a series of emails from the Auckland Regional Public Health Service, health authorities dealing with a then-small outbreak of the disease, discussed the possibility taro chips could be the culprit. The ARPHS came under fire after it was revealed they had known about the outbreak for several days before alerting the public. The Ministry would find out via news reports that in fact all 10 typhoid patients were in hospital. Despite the public health scare, the ARPHS indicated to the director of public health there was no plan to provide updates to media or the public over the weekend.

Source: New Zealand Herald June 24, 2017 17:03 UTC