Salmonella-Enteritidis-Phagentyp-36-Ausbruch in Österreich 2004

Abstract

In June 2004, an egg packing station was epidemiologically incriminated as possibly distributing the vehicle of the Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica ser. Typhimurium definitive type (DT) U291 outbreak which began in September 2003 and--as of June 2004 affected more than 100 persons all over Austria and 8 German tourists. A total of 68 egg producing farms were screened for salmonella. Whereas all samples tested negative for S. Typhimurium DT U291, one batch of laying hens was identified as being heavily contaminated with a rare Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica ser. Enteritidis phage type, namely PT 36. This phage type was cultured from 6 of 7 swabs from pooled fecal samples (drag swabs), from 1 of 4 samples of pooled yolks, and from 7 of 11 hens tested (ovaries, liver and intestinal content pooled per hen). In 2004, a total of 36 culture-confirmed human PT 36 infections (19 manifest cases, 12 asymptomatic carriers, and 5 excreters with unknown clinical status) were documented in 4 of the 9 Austrian provinces. It was possible to demonstrate that eggs from this single farm were the probable source of infection for 30 of 31 culture-confirmed human infections. Only in the case of one patient, who regularly purchased eggs at the local market, could no connection to the farm be proven due to inability to trace the market's egg source. The PT 36 outbreak ceased after elimination of the contaminated flock. This episode underlines the considerable potential of adequate epidemiological and microbiological investigations of food-borne outbreaks to improve prevention and control of communicable diseases. The source of the S. Typhimurium DT U291 outbreak--which initially prompted this investigation--is still not identified and accounts for more than 300 human cases until August 2005.

Prevalence of non-typhoidal Salmonella and risk factors on poultry farms in Chitwan, Nepal

“…In this study, the prevalence of NTS isolates from all eggshell swabs was negative. This was also an unexpected result as previous research has shown eggshell contamination to be commonplace [29][30][31][32][33][34][35]. There are several possible explanations for this discrepancy.…”

Lebensmittelbedingte Krankheitsausbrüche, Österreich 2007

“…Nevertheless, outbreaks caused by contaminated foodstuffs that are distributed throughout Austria often result in a number of seemingly sporadic single cases where no epidemiologic link has been established. As a result of an outbreak investigation in 2004, 36 microbiologically confirmed S. Enteritidis PT36 cases which involved four provinces could be linked to one contaminated laying hen facility [26]. The flock was culled and the facility was sanitized.…”

Survey of Salmonella Contamination in Chicken Layer Farms in Three Caribbean Countries

“…The low prevalence (12.5%) may reflect a reduction of contamination of eggs on poultry farms in Trinidad and Tobago, this hypothesis must be confirmed with further work because the present prevalence study provided information on the contamination of eggs at only a single time point. Salmonellosis associated with contaminated eggs and egg products has been reported in the Caribbean region (8,21) and elsewhere (11,19,26,30,32). However, sample size, isolation techniques used, and time frame should be considered when comparing prevalence data from various studies.…”

“…Salmonellosis resulting from the consumption of eggs or egg products has been reported in outbreaks globally, with both public health and economic implications (11,19,26,30,32). Rearing of layer birds in Salmonella-free farm environments and obtaining hatching eggs and day-old chicks free of Salmonella have been reported as imperative for preventing Salmonella from entering the human food chain (27,31,35).…”