In 1997, a community-wide outbreak of Salmonella enterica serotype Typhimurium (S. typhimurium) infection occurred in France. The investigation included case searching and a case-control study. A case was defined as a resident of the Jura district with fever or diarrhoea between 12 May and 8 July 1997, from whom S. typhimurium was isolated in stool or blood. One hundred and thirteen cases were identifed. Thirty-three (83%) of 40 cases but only 23 (55%) of 42 community controls, matched for age and area of residence, reported eating Morbier cheese (Odds ratio : 6.5; 95% Confidence Interval : 1.4-28.8). Morbier cheese samples taken from the refrigerators of two case-patients and one symptom-free neighbour cultured positive for S. typhimurium of the same phage type as the human isolates. The analysis of distribution channels incriminated one batch from a single processing plant. These findings show that an unpasteurized soft cheese is an effective vehicle of S. typhimurium transmission.
Auteur : de Valk H, Delarocque Astagneau E, Colomb G, Ple S, Godard E, Vaillant V, Haeghebaert S, Bouvet PH, Grimont F, Grimont P, Desenclos JC
Epidemiology and Infection, 2000, vol. 124, n°. 1, p. 1-7
