BACKGROUND The objective of this study was to describe the epidemiology of foodborne disease outbreaks in schools and to identify where preventive measures could be targeted. METHODS Reports by state and local health departments of foodborne disease outbreaks occurring in primary and secondary schools, colleges and universities from January 1, 1973, through December 31, 1997, were reviewed. D...

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...

BACKGROUND More than 200 students and teachers at a boarding school in Shanghai developed acute gastroenteritis in December, 2012. The transmission mode remained largely unknown. An immediate epidemiological investigation was conducted to identify it. METHODS Using a retrospective cohort design, we investigated demographic characteristics, school environment, and previous contacts with people...

This study investigates the potential impacts of food safety outbreaks on domestic shipments, imports, and prices of the produce industry. Three case studies were analyzed to assess these potential impacts: the cantaloupe outbreak of March–April 2008, the spinach outbreak of September 2006, and the tomato outbreak of June–July 2008. Data-determined historical decompositions were conducted to pr...

Background: Salmonella spp. are major causes of food-borne disease and have been identified among many diarrheal outbreaks. The major aim of the current investigation was to evaluate the class 1 and 2 integrons and antibiotic resistance pattern in Salmonella enterica isolated from diarrheal food-borne outbreaks in Iran.  Methods: This study was carried out on 115 diarrheal feces samples obtain...

The genetic characterization of hepatitis A virus (HAV) strains is commonly accomplished by sequencing subgenomic regions, such as the VP1/P2B junction. HAV genome is not extensively variable, thus presenting opportunity for sharing sequences of subgenomic regions among genetically unrelated isolates. The degree of misrepresentation of phylogenetic relationships by subgenomic regions is especia...

On 15 August 2012, an increase in the number of Salmonella Thompson cases was noticed by the Salmonella surveillance in the Netherlands. A case–control study was performed, followed by a food investigation. In total 1,149 cases were laboratory-confirmed between August and December 2012 of which four elderly (76–91 years) were reported to have died due to the infection. The cause of the outbreak...