title: An outbreak of salmonella chester infection in Canada: rare serotype, uncommon exposure, and unusual population demographic facilitate rapid identification of food vehicle.
abstract: Salmonella Chester infection has rarely been reported in the literature. In 2010, 33 case patients were reported in 2 months in four Canadian provinces. We conducted an outbreak investigation in collaboration with public health agencies, food safety specialists, regulatory agencies,  grocery store chains, and the product distributor. We used case patient interviews, customer loyalty cards, and microbiological testing of clinical and food samples to identify nationally distributed head cheese as the food vehicle responsible for the outbreak. The rare serotype, a limited  affected demographic group, and an uncommon exposure led to the rapid identification of the source. Control measures were implemented within 9 days of notification of the outbreak.
authors.affiliation: Epidemiology Services, School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada V6T 1Z3.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Taylor
authors.forename: Eleni
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Galanis
authors.forename: Lynn
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wilcott
authors.forename: Linda
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hoang
authors.forename: Jason
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Stone
authors.forename: Judi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ekkert
authors.forename: Doug
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Quibell
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Huddleston
authors.forename: Rachel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: McCormick
authors.forename: Yvonne
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Whitfield
authors.forename: Bijay
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Adhikari
authors.forename: Christopher C R
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Grant
authors.forename: Davendra
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sharma
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002170:Canada / Q000453:epidemiology; D002611:Cheese / Q000382:microbiology*; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D005260:Female; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000032:analysis*; D005516:Food Microbiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012475:Salmonella / Q000145:classification* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D012478:Salmonella Food Poisoning / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012703:Serotyping