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A foodborne outbreak of gastroenteritis involving Listeria monocytogenes

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 May 2009

G. Salamina ,
E. Dalle Donne ,
A. Niccolini ,
G. Poda ,
D. Cesaroni ,
M. Bucci ,
R. Fini ,
M. Maldini ,
A. Schuchat  and
B. Swaminathan
...Show all authors
G. Salamina*
Affiliation:
Laboratorio di Epidemiologia e Biostatistica, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 299 Viale Regina Elena, 00161, Rome, Italy
E. Dalle Donne
Affiliation:
Unità Sanitaria Locale 25, San Giorgio di Piano, Bologna, Italy
A. Niccolini
Affiliation:
Laboratorio di Epidemiologia e Biostatistica, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 299 Viale Regina Elena, 00161, Rome, Italy
G. Poda
Affiliation:
Presidio Multizonale di Prevenzione, Bologna, Italy
D. Cesaroni
Affiliation:
Presidio Multizonale di Prevenzione, Bologna, Italy
M. Bucci
Affiliation:
Presidio Multizonale di Prevenzione, Bologna, Italy
R. Fini
Affiliation:
Laboratorio di Analisi, Ospedale di Bentivoglio, Bologna, Italy
M. Maldini
Affiliation:
Laboratorio di Analisi, Ospedale di Bentivoglio, Bologna, Italy
A. Schuchat
Affiliation:
Division of Bacterial and Mycotic Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA
B. Swaminathan
Affiliation:
Division of Bacterial and Mycotic Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA
W. Bibb
Affiliation:
Division of Bacterial and Mycotic Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA
J. Rocourt
Affiliation:
Centre Collaborates de l'OMS pour la Listériose d'Origine Alimentaire, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France
N. Binkin
Affiliation:
Laboratorio di Epidemiologia e Biostatistica, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 299 Viale Regina Elena, 00161, Rome, Italy
*
* Author for correspondence and reprint requests.
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An outbreak of gastroenteritis occurred in Italy among 39 persons who had attended a private supper. All guests were previously healthy, young, non-pregnant adults; 18 (46%) had symptoms, mostly gastrointestinal (78%), with a short incubation period. Four were hospitalized with acute febrile gastroenteritis, two of whom had blood cultures positive for Listeria monocytogenes. No other microorganisms were recovered from the hospitalized patients' specimens. Epidemiological investigation identified rice salad as the most likely vehicle of the food-borne outbreak. L. monocytogenes was isolated from three leftover foods, the kitchen freezer and blender. Isolates from the patients, the foods and the freezer were indistinguishable: serotype l/2b, same phage type and multilocus enzyme electrophoretic type. Eight (36%) of 22 guests tested were found to have antibodies against L. monocytogenes, compared with none of 11 controls from the general population. This point source outbreak was probably caused by infection with L. monocytogenes. Unusual features included the high attack rate among immunocompetent adults and the predominance of gastrointestinal symptoms.

Type
Research Article
Information
Epidemiology & Infection , Volume 117 , Issue 3 , December 1996 , pp. 429 - 436
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1996

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