title: An outbreak of Salmonella blockley infections following smoked eel consumption in Germany.
abstract: In June 1998, an increased number of persons with Salmonella blockley infection were reported from one German state. Because S. blockley is extremely uncommon in Germany, a case-control study was performed in order to find the source. A total of 13 patients met the case definition. Nine of 12 cases and 2 of 21 controls with food consumption histories reported eating smoked eel (OR 28.5; 95% CI 3.9-235.3). The consumed eel came from four different local smokeries, but could be traced back to fish farms in Italy. This outbreak indicates that eel may be a vehicle for salmonella infection and that the smoking process may not eliminate bacterial contamination from raw fish.
authors.affiliation: Robert Koch Institute FG 23, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Fell
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Hamouda
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lindner
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rehmet
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Liesegang
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Prager
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Gericke
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Petersen
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000302:isolation & purification; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D004524:Eels / Q000382:microbiology*; D016521:Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology; D005260:Female; D005396:Fish Products / Q000382:microbiology*; D005516:Food Microbiology; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012475:Salmonella / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D012478:Salmonella Food Poisoning / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial