title: Impact of infecting dose on severity of disease in an outbreak of food-borne Salmonella enteritidis.
abstract: We conducted a cross-sectional study 72 h after a private dinner party, at which 33/59 participants (attack rate 56%) became infected with Salmonella enteritidis, phage type 6. All were interviewed and stool samples were obtained from 55 persons (93%). Only 2/33 cases were asymptomatic (6%). The median incubation period was 21 h. 14 of the cases (42%) were admitted to hospital. A significant association was found between infection and 1 of the egg-containing dishes (kabab). Cross-contamination to other dishes was likely. As an indirect measure of infecting dose, all persons were divided into exposure groups according to self-reported amount of consumed kabab, which was associated with risk of becoming ill (p = 0.00002) and the risk of hospitalization (p = 0.0005). Among the symptoms experienced by the patients, only fever was significantly associated with the amount of consumed kabab (p = 0.008). The present data suggest an existence of a dose-effect relationship in infections with S. enteritidis, phage type 6.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Svendborg Hospital, Denmark.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Rejnmark
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Stoustrup
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Christensen
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hansen
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003718:Denmark / Q000453:epidemiology; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D004531:Eggs / Q000382:microbiology; D005260:Female; D005516:Food Microbiology; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012478:Salmonella Food Poisoning / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D012477:Salmonella enteritidis; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires