An outbreak of paratyphoid fever in the UK associated with a fish-and-chip shop

Abstract

An outbreak of Salmonella paratyphi B infection in the UK associated with a fish-and-chip shop is reported. The source of infection for the first three cases was believed to be a food handler who was infected overseas 6 years earlier. His wife whose faeces and urine were originally culture negative continued to run the shop but subsequently her faeces became positive on one occasion. She was considered to have been the source of two further cases, and secondary household spread of infection from these two cases resulted in one symptomatic and two asymptomatic infections. A second household contact of the proprietor also became a faecal excretor 2 months later. We recommend that food handlers living in households or in intimate contact with cases or carriers of S. paratyphi B should be put off work until all household contacts cease excreting the organism.

Clinically Unreported Salmonellosis Outbreak Detected via Comparative Genomic Analysis of Municipal Wastewater Salmonella Isolates

“…Nontyphoidal salmonellosis chronic carriage (Ͼ1 year) in humans is rare; most studies detail long-term carriage of typhoid-causing serovars, primarily Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi and Salmonella enterica serovar Paratyphi A (42,43). Cases of chronic S. Paratyphi B carriers have been historically reported (44), and this may be one of the more common serovars implicated in long-term asymptomatic excretion (45). In chronic carriers, shedding of Salmonella through feces is periodic (41) and could lead to peaks in municipal wastewater without associated clinical cases.…”

Prevalence of Bacteria and Absence of Anisakid Parasites in Raw and Prepared Fish and Seafood Dishes in Spanish Restaurants

“…Approximately 7% of all foodbome Salmonella outbreaks are linked to seafood (4). Although Salmonella serovars Typhimurium, Montevideo, and Para typhi were detected in fish and seafood dishes in Australia (32,33) and in fish-and-chip shops in the United Kingdom (15), both outbreaks were caused by salmon provided by the same catering firm in the United Kingdom (6). On the other hand, no Listeria species were isolated from any type of fish dish (salmon, hake, and sole) served in university restaurants (43).…”

“…However, fish and fish products are know n as possible vehicles for parasites and m icroorganism s. Infec tion and contam ination are introduced principally when fish are caught, during processing, and during preparation o f fish and seafood by food handlers and restaurateurs. M icrobi ological outbreaks have been associated with fish consum p tion in A ustria (30), A rgentina (36), A ustralia (32,33), M exico (34), Panam a (26), the United K ingdom (45), and the United States (15,38). M oreover, more than 30,000 cases o f hum an anisakidosis have been reported w orldwide, mainly in Japan, the United States, and European coastal regions, areas where consum ption o f raw or undercooked fish and cephalopods is com m on (1,18).…”

A Whole-Genome Single Nucleotide Polymorphism-Based Approach To Trace and Identify Outbreaks Linked to a Common Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica Serovar Montevideo Pulsed-Field Gel Electrophoresis Type

“…In the previously published case-control study for this outbreak (5), 55% of the case patients reported having consumed salami, while 15.4% of the controls reported having eaten salami. As the epidemiological data for the isolates characterized here are limited and not comprehensive, one has to be careful in the interpretation of these data; it is tempting, however, to speculate that some patients in this outbreak may have been infected through other vehicles, e.g., secondary transmission, which is well documented in some salmonellosis outbreaks (9,11). In addition, it is not surprising that at least some patients will report consumption of salami even though they were infected by S. Montevideo strains that do not seem to represent the outbreak subtype.…”