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Food-borne outbreak of group G streptococcal sore throat in an Israeli military base

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 October 2009

D. Cohen
Affiliation:
Medical Corps, Israel Defence Forces
M. Ferne
Affiliation:
National Streptococcal Reference Center, Israel
T. Rouach
Affiliation:
Medical Corps, Israel Defence Forces
S. Bergner-Rabinowitz
Affiliation:
National Streptococcal Reference Center, Israel
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Summary

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A food-borne outbreak of sore throat caused by Lancefield group G β-haemolytic streptococci and involving 50 persons occurred in May 1983 in an Israeli military camp. All of the patients available for clinical examination had sore throat and difficulty in swallowing. Exudative tonsillitis occurred in 46% of the patients and the body temperature was above 37·5 °C in 81%. The pattern of attack was uniform over the base and 37 became ill during the night and morning of the 5 May. Thirty-two (84%) of the throat cultures taken from 37 patients grew group G β-haemolytic streptococci. Eight of 29 contacts were positive for group G β-haemolytic streptococci and 6 of the 28 foodhandlers examined had positive cultures of the same group. The organism was also isolated from one food sample. The epidemiological and laboratory investigations indicated that a food handler, a convalescent carrier of group G streptococci, might have been the source of infection. Assumptions on the potential of non-group A streptococci to cause epidemics are discussed.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1987

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