Foodborne Salmonella-caused outbreaks in Catalonia (Spain), 1990 to 2003.
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.
Domínguez
Angela
A
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
Torner
Nuria
N
Ruiz
Laura
L
Martínez
Ana
A
Bartolomé
Rosa
R
Sulleiro
Elena
E
Teixidó
Angel
A
Plasencia
Antoni
A
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