title: Foodborne illness and seasonality related to mobile food sources at festivals and group gatherings in the state of Georgia.
abstract: Little is known about the relationship of location and season to the pathogen and impact of foodborne illness. A sample of 244 foodborne illness outbreaks from the Foodborne Outbreak Online Database System stemming from festivals (mobile food sources) and group gatherings in Georgia between 1998 and 2010 was examined to determine if season and location were related to pathogen and the number of ill or hospitalized individuals. Results of Chi-square tests of independence, one-way analysis of variance, and the Kruskal-Wallis test showed that norovirus and Salmonella were more strongly associated with group gatherings; Staphylococcus outbreaks were more associated with festivals; norovirus was more frequent during winter; and Salmonella was more associated with summer and autumn events. Location and impact were significant for outbreaks associated with group gatherings, resulting in more hospitalizations than outbreaks associated with festivals. No statistically significant difference occurred between the numbers of reported illnesses stemming from festivals versus group gatherings nor did a seasonal difference occur in the total number of individuals who fell ill or were hospitalized.
authors: Erica
authors: E
authors: Wilson
mesh_terms: D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D005516:Food Microbiology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005517:Foodborne Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000821:virology; D005843:Geography; D005845:Georgia / Q000453:epidemiology; D006693:Holidays; D006801:Humans; D012621:Seasons