title: Foodborne Salmonella-caused outbreaks in Catalonia (Spain), 1990 to 2003.
abstract: In most developed countries, nontyphoid Salmonella is an important cause of sporadic cases and outbreaks of foodborne gastroenteritis. The aim of this study was to investigate the trend of foodborne Salmonella-caused outbreaks and number of cases, hospitalizations, and deaths and compare them with those caused by other infectious agents. The study was carried out in Catalonia, a region in northeastern Spain with a population of 6.5 million inhabitants, in 2002. All information on reported outbreaks of foodborne disease from 1990 to 2003 was reviewed. For each outbreak, the following variables were collected: year; setting (household, restaurant, school, hospital, nursing home, and others); number of cases, hospitalizations, and deaths; causal agent; and food vehicle involved. Of 1652 reported outbreaks, 1078 had a known causal agent. Among them, 871 (80.8%) were caused by Salmonella, with 14,695 cases, 1534 hospitalizations, and 4 deaths. The rate of hospitalization was higher in outbreaks due to Salmonella than in those caused by other infectious agents (rate ratio, 2.54; 95% confidence interval, 2.20 to 2.94). Forty-eight percent of Salmonella-caused outbreaks were eggborne, compared with 5.3% of those caused by other infectious agents (rate ratio, 1.40; 95% confidence interval, 1.33 to 1.48). The annual number of cases in household outbreaks of eggborne Salmonella rose over time (R2 = 0.82), but the number of outbreaks produced in other settings did not. Eggborne outbreaks caused by Salmonella in households are a major cause of disease, and increased preventive efforts are necessary, especially consumer education and awareness of the risk of eating food containing raw or slightly cooked eggs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health of the Generalitat of Catalonia, Directorate of Public Health, Tray de les Corts 131-159, 08028, Barcelona, Spain. angela.dominguez@gencat.net
authors.forename: Angela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Domínguez
authors.forename: Nuria
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Torner
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ruiz
authors.forename: Ana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Martínez
authors.forename: Rosa
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bartolomé
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sulleiro
authors.forename: Angel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Teixidó
authors.forename: Antoni
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Plasencia
mesh_terms: D004196:Disease Outbreaks / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004531:Eggs / Q000382:microbiology*; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000032:analysis*; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D012307:Risk Factors; D012475:Salmonella / Q000302:isolation & purification; D012478:Salmonella Food Poisoning / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000401:mortality; D012621:Seasons; D018571:Sentinel Surveillance; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology