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Investigation and management of an outbreak of Salmonella Typhimurium DT8 associated with duck eggs, Ireland 2009 to 2011.

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posted on 2019-11-22, 15:50 authored by Patricia Garvey, Paul McKeown, Paul Kelly, Martin Cormican, Wayne Anderson, Alma Flack, S Barron, Niall De Lappe, James Buckley, C Cosgrove, D Molloy, J O' Connor, P O' Sullivan, J Matthews, Michael Ward, A Breslin, M B. O' Sullivan, Kevin Kelleher, Aoife McNamara, Cliodhna Foley-Nolan, Heidi Pelly, Fiona Cloak, Outbreak Control Team

Salmonella Typhimurium DT8 was a very rare cause of human illness in Ireland between 2000 and 2008, with only four human isolates from three patients being identified. Over a 19-month period between August 2009 and February 2011, 34 confirmed cases and one probable case of Salmonella Typhimurium DT8 were detected, all of which had an MLVA pattern 2-10-NA-12-212 or a closely related pattern. The epidemiological investigations strongly supported a linkbetween illness and exposure to duck eggs. Moreover, S. Typhimurium with an MLVA pattern indistinguishable (or closely related) to the isolates from human cases, was identified in 22 commercial and backyard duck flocks, twelve of which were linked with known human cases. A range of control measures were taken at farm level, and advice was provided to consumers on the hygienic handling and cooking of duck eggs. Although no definitive link was established with a concurrent duck egg-related outbreak of S. Typhimurium DT8 in the United Kingdom, it seems likely that the two events were related. It may be appropriate for other countries with a tradition of consuming duck eggs to consider the need for measures to reduce the risk of similar outbreaks.

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The original article is available at http://www.eurosurveillance.org

Published Citation

Garvey P, McKeown P, Kelly P, Cormican M, Anderson W, Flack A, Barron S, De Lappe N, Buckley J, Cosgrove C, Molloy D, O’Connor J, O’Sullivan P, Matthews J, Ward M, Breslin A, O’Sullivan MB, Kelleher K, McNamara A, Foley-Nolan C, Pelly H, Cloak F, Outbreak control team. Investigation and management of an outbreak of Salmonella Typhimurium DT8 associated with duck eggs, Ireland 2009 to 2011. Euro Surveill. 2013;18(16):pii=20454. Available online: http://www.eurosurveillance.org/ViewArticle.aspx?ArticleId=20454

Publication Date

2013-04-18

PubMed ID

23611032