ABSTRACTIn September 2016, 140 patients with primary symptoms of sore throat and fever were identified in a school dormitory in Osaka, Japan. Epidemiological and laboratory investigations determined that these symptomatic conditions were from a foodborne outbreak of group G streptococcus (GGS), with GGS being isolated from samples from patients, cooks, and foods. The strain of GGS was identified asStreptococcus dysgalactiaesubsp.equisimilisof twoemmtypes (stG652.0andstC36.0). The causative food, a broccoli salad, was contaminated with the two types ofS. dysgalactiaesubsp.equisimilis, totaling 1.3 × 104CFU/g. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) of samples from patients, cooks, and foods produced similar band patterns among samples with the sameemmtype. This result suggested the possibility of exposure from the contaminated food. The average onset time was 44.9 h and the prevalence rate was 62%. This is the first report to identify the causative food of a foodborne outbreak byStreptococcus dysgalactiaesubsp.equisimilis.
Foodborne outbreak of an acute streptococcal pharyngitis in a Portuguese Air Force Training Center
