An outbreak of Salmonella Infantis gastroenteritis in a residential aged care facility associated with thickened fluids

作者：Najjar Z; Furlong C; Stephens N; Shadbolt C; Maywood P; Conaty S^*; Hogg G

来源：Epidemiology and Infection, 2012, 140(12): 2264-2272.

DOI：10.1017/S0950268812000180

• Food poisoning
• food safety
• nursing homes
• Salmonella

Twenty-two confirmed cases of Salmonella Infantis were identified in 70 residents of high-level care areas of a residential aged care facility in Sydney in April 2010 during an outbreak of gastroenteritis. A retrospective cohort study was conducted to identify a possible cause. Consuming a soft diet, pureed diet, or thickened fluid were each independently associated with illness. A logistic regression showed consumption of thickened fluid to be the only significant exposure associated with illness (adjusted odds ratio 11.8, 95% confidence interval 1.9-75.9). It was postulated that the thickened fluid had been contaminated by chicken mince, a sample of which also cultured S. Infantis. This finding reinforces the need to educate food-handlers on the risk of potential cross-contamination; it also highlights the need to consider all dietary components, such as thickened fluids, as potential vehicles for transmission in an outbreak.

• 出版日期2012-12