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The problems of tracing a geographically widespread outbreak of salmonellosis from a commonly eaten food: Salmonella typhimurium DT193 in North West England and North Wales in 1991

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 May 2009

L. Thornton
Affiliation:
PHLS Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre, (Welsh Unit), Abton House, Wedal Road, Cardiff CF4 3QX
S. Gray
Affiliation:
PHLS Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre, (Welsh Unit), Abton House, Wedal Road, Cardiff CF4 3QX
P. Bingham
Affiliation:
PHLS Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre, (Welsh Unit), Abton House, Wedal Road, Cardiff CF4 3QX
R. L. Salmon*
Affiliation:
PHLS Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre, (Welsh Unit), Abton House, Wedal Road, Cardiff CF4 3QX
D. N. Hutchinson
Affiliation:
Preston Public Health Laboratory, Royal Preston Hospital, PO Box 202, Sharoe Green Lane, Preston PR2 4HG
B. Rowe
Affiliation:
PHLS Central Public Health Laboratory, 61 Colindale Avenue, London NW9 5HT
D. Newton
Affiliation:
Environmental Health Department, Ribble Valley BC
Q. U. Syed
Affiliation:
Liverpool Public Health Laboratory, Fazakerley Hospital, Lower Lane, Liverpool L9 7AL
*
*Correspondence to Dr R. L. Salmon
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Summary

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Geographically widespread outbreaks involving commonly isolated organisms and where the vehicles of infection are commonly eaten foodstuffs pose particular difficulties at a technical and organizational level.

An outbreak of Salmonella typhimurium infection, affecting 39 people, spread over a wide area in North West England and North Wales in April and May 1991, was detected thanks to the practice of sending specimens to the national reference laboratory where phage typing and characterizing of antibiotic resistance patterns enabled the identification of a cluster of distinctive isolates (S. typhimurium DT193 resistant to sulphonamides, trimethoprim and furazolidone). An investigation, involving twenty environmental health departments in addition to health authorities and the Public Health Laboratory Service, showed an association between the illness and eating loose sliced cooked ham (P = 0.004). Detailed tracing of the chain of supply of the ham showed this to be particularly cooked ham originating from a single small local producer (P = 0.00003). Further investigation of that producer revealed that a batch of ham distributed on one day in early April was undercooked due to a malfunction in cooking equipment.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1993

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