Because secondary transmission masks the connection between sources and outbreaks, estimating the proportion of foodborne norovirus infections is difficult. We studied whether norovirus genotype frequency distributions (genotype profiles) can enhance detection of the sources of foodborne outbreaks. Control measures differ substantially; therefore, differentiating this transmission mode from per...

The human sapovirus (SaV) causes acute gastroenteritis mainly in infants and young children. A food-borne outbreak of gastroenteritis associated with SaV occurred among junior high school students in Yokohama, Japan, during and after a study trip. The nucleotide sequences of the partial capsid gene derived from the students exhibited 98% homology to a SaV genogroup IV strain, Hu/Angelholm/SW278...

BACKGROUND In July 2005 an outbreak of acute gastroenteritis occurred on a residential summer camp in the province of Barcelona (northeast of Spain). Forty-four people were affected among residents and employees. All of them had in common a meal at lunch time on 13 July (paella, round of beef and fruit). The aim of this study was to investigate a foodborne norovirus outbreak that occurred in th...

We extend the game theoretic model of kleptoparasitism introduced by Broom and Ruxton (1998, Behav. Ecol. 9, 397-403) in two ways: we allow for asymmetric contests, where the probability alpha of the challenger winning can take any value from 0 to 1; and we allow the handler to choose not to resist the challenge, but to immediately concede and relinquish its food to the challenger. We find, in ...

OBJECTIVE The Australian Capital Territory Health Directorate was notified of a food handler with hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection. To guide the public health response, a rapid risk assessment was undertaken to determine the risk of transmission of HEV from the infected food handler to restaurant patrons. METHOD The literature on HEV was reviewed and expert advice sought from clinical and pu...

Infections with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) are increasingly community acquired. We investigated an outbreak in which a food handler, food specimen, and three ill patrons were culture positive for the same toxin-producing strain of MRSA. This is the first report of an outbreak of gastrointestinal illness caused by community-acquired MRSA.

We report here the complete genome sequence of Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Typhi B/SF/13/03/195 obtained from a typhoid carrier, who is a food handler in Pasir Mas, Kelantan.

Hepatitis A is caused by the hepatitis A virus (HAV). Transmission occurs by the faecal-oral route, either by direct contact with an HAV-infected person or by ingestion of HAV-contaminated food or water. Hepatitis A outbreaks are uncommon in Australia. In 2008, Victoria experienced an outbreak of hepatitis A due to an infected food handler.