Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-vdxz6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-25T21:50:53.506Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Staphylococcal food poisoning on a cruise ship

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 October 2009

Stephen H. Waterman
Affiliation:
Los Angeles County Department of Health Services, Los Angeles, California, USA.
Thomas A. Demarcus
Affiliation:
Los Angeles Quarantine Station, Division of Quarantine, Center for Prevention Services, Centers for Disease Control, Los Angeles International Airport, Los Angeles, California, USA,
Joy G. Wells
Affiliation:
Enteric Diseases Branch, Division of Bacterial Diseases, Center for Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Paul A. Blake
Affiliation:
Enteric Diseases Branch, Division of Bacterial Diseases, Center for Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Two waves of vomiting and/or diarrhoea affected approximately 215 of the 715 passengers on a Caribbean cruise ship. The outbreak was independently associated with eating cream-filled pastries at two separate meals. Staphylococcus aureus phage type 85/+ was isolated from cases and pastry cooks, but not from controls. This is the first well-documented outbreak of staphylococcal food poisoning on a cruise ship.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1987

References

REFERENCES

Blair, J. E. & Williams, R. E. O. (1961). Phage typing of staphylococci. Bulletin of the World Health Organization 24, 771784.Google ScholarPubMed
Bryan, F. L. (1976). Public health aspects of cream-filled pastries: a review. Journal of Milk and Food Technology 39, 289296.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Centers for Disease Control (1976). Diarrheal illness on a cruise ship caused by enterotoxigenic E. coli. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 25, 229230.Google Scholar
Centers for Disease Control. (1986). Gastroenteritis outbreaks on two Caribbean cruise ships. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 35, 383384.Google Scholar
Gunn, R. A., Terranova, W. A., Greenberg, H. B., Yashuk, J., Gary, G. W., Wells, J. G., Taylor, P. R. & Feldman, R. A. (1980). Norwalk virus gastroenteritis aboard a cruise ship; an outbreak on five consecutive cruises. American Journal of Epidemiology 112, 820827.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Holmberg, S. D. & Blake, P. A. (1984). Staphylococcal food poisoning in the United States: new facts and old misconceptions. Journal of the American Medical Association 252, 487489.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Merson, M. H., Hughes, J. M., Lawrence, D. N., Wells, J. G., D'Agnese, J. J. & Yashuk, J. C. (1976). Food and waterborne disease outbreaks on passenger cruise vessels and aircraft. Journal of Milk and Food Technology 39, 285288.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Merson, M. H., Tenney, J. H., Meyers, J. D., Wood, B. T., Wells, J. G., Rymzo, W., Cline, B., DeWitt, W. E., Skaliy, P. & Mallison, G. F. (1975). Shigellosis at sea: an outbreak aboard a passenger cruise ship. American Journal of Epidemiology 101, 165175.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Snyder, J. D., Wells, J. G., Yashuk, J., Puhr, N. & Blake, P. A. (1984). Outbreak of invasive Escherichia coli gastroenteritis on a cruise ship. American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 33, 281284.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed