Salmonelloses in the State of Rio Grande do Sul, southern Brazil, 2002 to 2004

Salmonella has been identified as the main aetiological agent responsible for foodborne diseases in several countries worldwide, including Brazil. In the State of Rio Grande do Sul (RS), southern Brazil, previews studies analysed official foodborne illnesses data, identifying Salmonella as the main bacterial agent of foodborne diseases during the period of 1997 to 2001. The present study aimed to analyse the official epidemiological data on salmonelloses occurred in the State of RS, during the period of 2002 to 2004. Even though data on recent salmonelloses were available, only data concerning the period comprising in 2002 to 2004 were analysed because the official worksheet records presented more consistent information about the salmonellosis outbreaks. Results indicated that, among the 624 foodborne outbreaks officially investigated, 202 (32.37%) were confirmed as salmonellosis. Among them 23,725 people were involved, 4,148 became sick, 1,878 were hospitalized and one person died. The season with the highest incidence of salmonelloses was spring, and the most affected age group was composed of people aged between 20 to 49 years old (56.66%). Animal origin foods--especially eggs and meat products--were very often involved with the outbreaks, however homemade mayonnaise was identified as the main food vehicle for salmonelloses (53.51%). The majority of the cases occurred inside private homes (55.81%) and food services (12.1%), and the main factors contributing to the occurrence of the outbreaks were the consumption of products without sanitary inspection (26.7%) and exposure of food at room temperature for more than two hours (18.58%). Similarly to what was previously reported for the period of 1997 to 2001, Salmonella spp. was the most prevalent foodborne disease agent in the State of RS during the years of 2002 to 2004.