title: A large outbreak of Salmonella enteritidis phage type 4 associated with eggs from overseas.
abstract: In February 1989 the largest reported outbreak to date in the United Kingdom of Salmonella enteritidis phage type 4 (PT4) infection occurred following a wedding reception at a hotel. One hundred and seventy-three people met the case definition of illness of whom 118 had the organism isolated from their stools. A further 17 were found to be S. enteritidis PT4 positive, but were asymptomatic. Lightly-cooked, egg-based sauces were the epidemiologically proven vehicles of infection. Investigations showed this outbreak to be the first to implicate imported European eggs as the source of infection. An unusual feature of this outbreak was a reported incubation period of less than 3 h for some of the confirmed cases of salmonellosis.
authors.affiliation: Parkside Health Authority.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Stevens
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Joseph
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bruce
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Fenton
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: O'Mahony
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Cunningham
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: O'Connor
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Rowe
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003718:Denmark; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D004531:Eggs; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology; D005260:Female; D005506:Food Contamination; D005522:Food Services; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012478:Salmonella Food Poisoning / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012477:Salmonella enteritidis / Q000302:isolation & purification; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D006113:United Kingdom / Q000453:epidemiology