scholarly journals Streptococcal contamination of food: an unusual cause of epidemic pharyngitis

2001 ◽  
Vol 127 (2) ◽  
pp. 179-184 ◽  
Author(s):  
U. KATZENELL ◽  
J. SHEMER ◽  
Y. BAR-DAYAN
Keyword(s):  
Sore Throat ◽  
Streptococcus Pyogenes ◽  
Attack Rate ◽  
Food Poisoning ◽  
Streptococcal Pharyngitis ◽  
Food Handler ◽  
Food Handlers ◽  
Food Borne ◽  
And Storage ◽  
Penicillin Prophylaxis

The purpose of this article is to define the distinguishing characteristics of food-borne streptococcal pharyngitis by reviewing the literature. The main cause of this infection lies in poor handling and preservation of cold salads, usually those which contain eggs and are prepared some hours before serving. A shorter incubation period and a higher attack rate (51–90%) than in transmission by droplets was noted. The epidemics tend to occur in warm climates and in the hottest months of the year. Streptococcus pyogenes seems to originate from the pharynx or hand lesions of a food handler. In comparison to airborne transmission symptoms such as sore throat, pharyngeal erythema, and enlarged tonsils, submandibular lymphadenopathy are more frequent than coughing and coryza. Seven out of 17 reports revealed an M-untypeable serotype, which may possess virulent characteristics. Penicillin prophylaxis was shown to limit additional spread of the infection. There were no non-suppurative sequels, and suppurative sequels were very rare. We assume that the guidelines for the prevention of food poisoning would apply to food-borne streptococcal pharyngitis. Food handlers should be supervised to ensure they comply with strict rules of preparation and storage of food. Cold salads, especially those containing eggs, should not be left overnight before serving.

scholarly journals The carrier food-handler and non-typhoid salmonellosis

1987 ◽  
Vol 98 (3) ◽  
pp. 223-230 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. G. Cruickshank ◽  
T. J. Humphrey
Keyword(s):  
Food Poisoning ◽  
Practical Significance ◽  
Food Handler ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Food Handlers ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Food Borne ◽  
Potential Problems ◽  
Substantial Temperature ◽  
Micro Organisms

The number of reported cases of food poisoning and food-borne disease continues to increase in most countries. The published figures are recognized as being only a small fraction of the true total and the problem is clearly both very large and international.Of the variety of micro-organisms responsible for outbreaks, Salmonella spp. are by far the most frequently incriminated and in the United Kingdom these organisms cause over 90% of cases (Epidemiology, 1986). The almost universal presence of these organisms in certain common foods, their ability to grow in a wide variety of foodstuffs over a substantial temperature range, the ease with which dissemination occurs from person to person and the prolonged period of excretion following recovery are the properties which, taken together, distinguish Salmonella spp. from other food-poisoning organisms. It is because of these characteristics that salmonellas are really the only food-poisoning organisms in which human beings as carriers pose potential problems as sources of outbreaks. This review is, therefore, confined to a consideration of the practical significance of the faecal carriage of salmonellas by asymptomatic food handlers, to an evaluation of the degree of risk, if any, that such a person may pose and to an assessment as to whether the time and money devoted to the investigation and exclusion of such persons is well spent.

scholarly journals An outbreak of viral gastroenteritis associated with consumption of sandwiches: implications for the control of transmission by food handlers

1998 ◽  
Vol 121 (3) ◽  
pp. 615-621 ◽  
Author(s):  
U. D. PARASHAR ◽  
L. DOW ◽  
R. L. FANKHAUSER ◽  
C. D. HUMPHREY ◽  
J. MILLER ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Handler ◽  
Common Source ◽  
Viral Gastroenteritis ◽  
Food Handlers ◽  
Rt Pcr ◽  
Source Of Infection ◽  
Food Borne ◽  
Pcr Product ◽  
Stool Specimens ◽  
Polymerase Chain

Although food handlers are often implicated as the source of infection in outbreaks of food-borne viral gastroenteritis, little is known about the timing of infectivity in relation to illness. We investigated a gastroenteritis outbreak among employees of a manufacturing company and found an association (RR=14·1, 95% CI=2·0–97·3) between disease and eating sandwiches prepared by 6 food handlers, 1 of whom reported gastroenteritis which had subsided 4 days earlier. Norwalk-like viruses were detected by electron microscopy or reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) in stool specimens from several company employees, the sick food handler whose specimen was obtained 10 days after resolution of illness, and an asymptomatic food handler. All RT-PCR product sequences were identical, suggesting a common source of infection. These data support observations from recent volunteer studies that current recommendations to exclude food handlers from work for 48–72 h after recovery from illness may not always prevent transmission of Norwalk-like viruses because virus can be shed up to 10 days after illness or while exhibiting no symptoms.

scholarly journals Group A β-Haemolytic Streptococcus Infection Presenting with Sore Throat at Paediatric OPD

1970 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 90-92
Author(s):  
R Gurung ◽  
S Budhathoki ◽  
R Amatya ◽  
N Poudyal ◽  
S Shrestha ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sore Throat ◽  
Streptococcus Pyogenes ◽  
Pediatric Patients ◽  
Susceptibility Testing ◽  
Streptococcal Pharyngitis ◽  
Diffusion Method ◽  
Disc Diffusion Method ◽  
Group A ◽  
Ciprofloxacin Resistance ◽  
Actual Prevalence

Objective: To study the prevalence of streptococcal pharyngitis in pediatric patients presenting with sore throat. Methods: A total of 100 patients aged 5.15 years were enrolled in the study. Verbal consent was obtained to collect specimens. The specimens were collected with the help of sterile cotton tipped swab, cultured in blood agar and chocolate agar as per the guideline. Streptococcus pyogenes was identified on the basis of Gram.s stain and its sensitivity towards 0.04 units of bacitracin disc. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing of the isolates was performed using Kirby Bauer disc diffusion method. Finding: Out of 100 patients which were included, 54 were male and 46 were female. GAS was isolated from 5 patients, of which 3 were male and 2 were female. Of the 5, S. pyogenes strains isolated, 2(66.6%) were found to be resistant to cotrimoxazole. Ciprofloxacin resistance was seen in one isolate. No resistance was detected in gentamycin, cefalexin, penicillin, and erythromycin. Conclusion: The results show that the prevalence of streptococcal pharyngitis is 5% among OPD cases, further study should be conducted in the community to know the actual prevalence of streptococcal pharyngitis. Keywords: Pharyngitis; Prevalence; Streptococcus pyogenes DOI: 10.3126/hren.v8i2.4418 Health Renaissance, May-Aug 2010; Vol 8 (No.2):90-92

scholarly journals Food Borne Disease and the Lifestyles of the Students and Food Handlers in Rural Schools: A Preliminary Observation

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (9) ◽  
pp. 430-436
Author(s):  
Song Jing Ling ◽  
Hassan Z. ◽  
Regina G.
Keyword(s):  
Food Poisoning ◽  
Food Preparation ◽  
Preparation Process ◽  
Food Hygiene ◽  
Food Handlers ◽  
School Students ◽  
Water Supplies ◽  
Food Borne ◽  
Major Factors ◽  
Prevention Methods

Food borne diseases cause millions of deaths every year around the world. The major factors contributing to food borne diseases and the prevalence of food poisoning among students are the food preparation process, lifestyles, physical cleanliness and water supplies. Food mismanagement by food handlers and students’ and food handlers’ poor knowledge of food hygiene are the factors that lead to food poisoning among school students. The objectives of this study are to: investigate how food handlers carry out food preparation; determine students’ and handlers’ standards of food hygiene assess the physical cleanliness of school canteens and the purity of their water supplies; and develop guidelines for the prevention of food poisoning. The aspects investigated in this study are the food preparation process, knowledge of food hygiene, physical cleanliness and food poisoning prevention methods.

scholarly journals Genotypes, Exotoxin Gene Content, and Antimicrobial Resistance of Staphylococcus aureus Strains Recovered from Foods and Food Handlers

2012 ◽  
Vol 78 (8) ◽  
pp. 2930-2935 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. A. Argudín ◽  
M. C. Mendoza ◽  
M. A. González-Hevia ◽  
M. Bances ◽  
B. Guerra ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Staphylococcus Aureus ◽  
Antimicrobial Resistance ◽  
Health Hazard ◽  
Food Poisoning ◽  
Gene Content ◽  
Food Handler ◽  
Food Handlers ◽  
Potential Health ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Genes Encoding

ABSTRACTStaphylococcal food poisoning, one of the most common food-borne diseases, results from ingestion of one or more staphylococcal enterotoxins (SEs) produced byStaphylococcus aureusin foods. In the present study, 64S. aureusisolates recovered from foods and food handlers, associated or not associated with food-poisoning outbreaks in Spain, were investigated. They were assigned to 31 strains byspatyping, multilocus sequence typing (MLST), exotoxin gene content, and antimicrobial resistance. The strains belonged to 10 clonal complexes (CCs): CC5 (29.0%), CC30 (25.8%), CC45 (16.1%), CC8, CC15 (two strains each), CC1, CC22, CC25, CC59, and CC121 (one strain each). They contained hemolysin genes (90.3%);lukED(77.4%); exfoliatin geneseta,etd(6.5% each), andetb(3.2%);tst(25.8%); and the following enterotoxin or enterotoxin-like genes or clusters:sea(38.7%),seb(12.9%),sec(16.1%),sed-seljwith or withoutser(22.9%),selk-selq(6.5%),seh,sell,selp(9.7% each),egc1(32.3%), andegc2(48.4%). The number ofseandselgenes ranged from zero to 12. All isolates carryingtst, and most isolates with genes encoding classical enterotoxins (SEA, SEB, SEC, and SED), expressed the corresponding toxin(s). Two CC5 isolates from hamburgers (spatype t002, sequence type 5 [ST5];spatype t2173, ST5) were methicillin resistant and harbored staphylococcal cassette chromosomemec(SCCmec) IVd. Six (19.4%) were mupirocin resistant, and one (spatype t120, ST15) from a food handler carriedmupA(MIC, 1,250 μg/ml). Resistance to ampicillin (blaZ) (61.3%), erythromycin (ermA-ermCorermC) (25.8%), clindamycin (msrA-msrB or msrB) (16.1%), tetracycline (tetK) (3.2%), and amikacin-gentamicin-kanamycin-tobramycin (aphAwithaacAplusaphDoraadD) (6.5%) was also observed. The presence ofS. aureusstrains with an important repertoire of virulence and resistance determinants in the food chain represents a potential health hazard for consumers and merits further observation.

scholarly journals Food-borne outbreak of group G streptococcal sore throat in an Israeli military base

1987 ◽  
Vol 99 (2) ◽  
pp. 249-255 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Cohen ◽  
M. Ferne ◽  
T. Rouach ◽  
S. Bergner-Rabinowitz
Keyword(s):  
Sore Throat ◽  
The Body ◽  
Food Handler ◽  
Group G Streptococci ◽  
Source Of Infection ◽  
Food Borne ◽  
Military Camp ◽  
Group A ◽  
Laboratory Investigations ◽  
Lancefield Group

SUMMARYA food-borne outbreak of sore throat caused by Lancefield group G β-haemolytic streptococci and involving 50 persons occurred in May 1983 in an Israeli military camp. All of the patients available for clinical examination had sore throat and difficulty in swallowing. Exudative tonsillitis occurred in 46% of the patients and the body temperature was above 37·5 °C in 81%. The pattern of attack was uniform over the base and 37 became ill during the night and morning of the 5 May. Thirty-two (84%) of the throat cultures taken from 37 patients grew group G β-haemolytic streptococci. Eight of 29 contacts were positive for group G β-haemolytic streptococci and 6 of the 28 foodhandlers examined had positive cultures of the same group. The organism was also isolated from one food sample. The epidemiological and laboratory investigations indicated that a food handler, a convalescent carrier of group G streptococci, might have been the source of infection. Assumptions on the potential of non-group A streptococci to cause epidemics are discussed.

scholarly journals Molecular subtyping of Staphylococcus aureus from an outbreak associated with a food handler

2002 ◽  
Vol 128 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
H.-L. WEI ◽  
C.-S. CHIOU
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Staphylococcus Aureus ◽  
Gel Electrophoresis ◽  
Protein A ◽  
Food Poisoning ◽  
Pulsed Field Gel Electrophoresis ◽  
Food Handler ◽  
Restriction Profile ◽  
Food Handlers ◽  
Gene Restriction

On 6 May 2000, a staphylococcal food poisoning outbreak occurred at a high school, affecting 10 of the 356 students who attended the breakfast. Twenty-seven Staphylococcus aureus isolates, producing enterotoxin A (SEA), SEB-, or non-SEA-E, were recovered from 7 patients, 2 food handlers and left-overs. To investigate the outbreak, we genotyped the isolates by using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and three PCR-based techniques: inter-IS256 PCR typing, protein A gene (spa) typing, and coagulase gene restriction profile (CRP) analysis. Our results show that PFGE was the most discriminatory technique, whereas the three PCR-based techniques were insufficient in the discriminatory power to distinguish the S. aureus isolates from the outbreak. Based on the enterotoxin-producing types and the results of genotyping, three distinct types of strains (A1111, B2221 and N3221) were designated. Both the A1111 and B2221 strains were found in the specimens from the patients and a hand lesion of a food handler, suggesting that the source of contamination for the outbreak was most likely originated from a food handler.

scholarly journals A Food Poisoning Outbreak in Al-Khazir U2 Camp of Internally Displaced Persons - Iraq, Summer 2017

Iproceedings ◽  
10.2196/10573 ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. e10573
Author(s):  
Kamal Kadhim ◽  
K Fathallah ◽  
Al Jaafar ◽  
A Hamad ◽  
S Saadoon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Preventive Measures ◽  
Food Poisoning ◽  
Internally Displaced Persons ◽  
Displaced Persons ◽  
Food Handlers ◽  
Internally Displaced ◽  
Northern Iraq ◽  
Contaminated Food ◽  
White Bean ◽  
And Storage

Background Globally, about 600 million fall ill and 420,000 die every year after eating contaminated food. On June 12, 2017, Iraq CDC informed about a food poisoning outbreak among internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Al-Khazir camp, Northern Iraq after consuming “Iftar” (Ramadan breakfast) provided by an NGO. “Iftar” was composed of rice, white bean broth, chicken, yogurt, date and bread. Objective The objective was to describe the outbreak, identify the causative agent and recommend preventive measures. Methods A team of FETP residents dispatched to investigate the outbreak. The case patient was defined as any person in the camp who ate “Iftar” and developed nausea/vomiting or diarrhea or abdominal pain. A retrospective cohort study was initiated. Results Conclusions The large number of ordered meals from a single restaurant led to suboptimal food preparation and storage. We recommended rigorous implementation of food handing instructions and health education of the food handlers.

scholarly journals Staphylococcus aureus harbouring egc cluster coding for non-classical enterotoxins, involved in a food poisoning outbreak, Romania, 2012 / Staphylococcus aureus purtător de gene codante pentru enterotoxine non-clasice (cluster egc), implicat într-un focar de toxiinfecţie alimentară, România, 2012

2015 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 285-294 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ileana Luminita Coldea ◽  
Lavinia Zota ◽  
Cristiana Cerasella Dragomirescu ◽  
Brandusa Elena Lixandru ◽  
Elena Carmina Dragulescu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Staphylococcus Aureus ◽  
Genetic Relatedness ◽  
Protein A ◽  
Food Poisoning ◽  
Food Handler ◽  
Reference Laboratory ◽  
Food Handlers ◽  
Spa Typing ◽  
Reference Centre ◽  
Laboratory Capacity

Abstract In March 2012, a food poisoning outbreak was reported in a Romanian county, with a total number of 30 children affected. The symptoms (vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal pain), with onset within 1-2 hours after the ingestion of a particular food (milk), suggested a possible staphylococcal aetiology. An outbreak investigation was carried out, in accordance with the national surveillance methodology and 25 samples: stool (n=9), vomit (n=5), nasal swabs (n=9), and milk (n=2) were collected from the affected children, food handlers and suspected food. All isolated strains were sent to the Reference Centre for Staphylococci within the “Cantacuzino” National Institute of Research-Development for Microbiology and Immunology, Bucharest, Romania, for confirmation and further analysis. The aim of this study was to increase the reference laboratory capacity to confirm staphylococcal food poisoning (SFP) outbreak by defining the molecular basis of toxicity of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) isolates and assessing their genetic relatedness. PCR methods have been used to detect 14 enterotoxin genes and the expression of some of these genes was proved by using a reverse transcription real-time PCR. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and Staphylococcus protein A coding gene sequence typing (spa typing) have been used to track the origin of the S. aureus contamination and to confirm the food poisoning outbreak. Two enterotoxigenic S. aureus strains isolated from milk, twelve isolated from patients and two from food handlers were of the same spa- type (t902) and revealed an indistinguishable SmaI macrorestriction pattern after a PFGE analysis. All these strains harboured the same toxin genes profile, namely the enterotoxin gene cluster (egc), which strongly supports the evidence that the milk was the incriminated food vehicle of the outbreak and a food-handler was the most likely source of the staphylococcal food poisoning (SFP) incident.

Survival of Streptococcus pyogenes on Foods and Food Contact Surfaces

2006 ◽  
Vol 69 (5) ◽  
pp. 1159-1163 ◽  
Author(s):  
STEVEN C. INGHAM ◽  
RISHI K. WADHERA ◽  
CHUN-HIM CHU ◽  
MICHAEL D. DEVITA
Keyword(s):  
Stainless Steel ◽  
Sore Throat ◽  
Streptococcus Pyogenes ◽  
Food Handlers ◽  
Food Contact ◽  
Food Contact Surfaces ◽  
Individual Survival ◽  
Luncheon Meat ◽  
Contact Surfaces ◽  
The Individual

Streptococcus pyogenes causes septic sore throat in millions of Americans each year and may be transmitted from food handlers to food contact surfaces, foods, and consumers. This study examined the individual survival of six S. pyogenes strains on food contact surfaces (plastic and ceramic plates, plastic cups, and stainless steel utensils) held at 21°C for 2 h and on tomatoes stored aerobically at 21°C for 2 h and at 5°C for 24 h. Survival of a cocktail of the six S. pyogenes strains was also evaluated on vacuum-packaged ready-to-eat meats and cheeses held at 21°C for 8 h and at 5°C for 24 h. Populations generally did not change on tomatoes, cheeses, or beef bologna; however, there were small (0.1 to 0.7 log CFU) but statistically significant decreases (P < 0.05) in average S. pyogenes populations on turkey luncheon meat and beef summer sausage stored for 8 h at 21°C and on beef summer sausage stored for 24 h at 5°C. On food contact surfaces, average populations either decreased slightly (P ≥ 0.05) or remained constant, with the exception of three strains that significantly decreased in number on ceramic plates (P < 0.05; average decreases, 0.3 log CFU). Results of this study suggest the importance of preventing the contamination of foods and food contact surfaces with S. pyogenes by infected workers.

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