JALAVA K, HALLANVUO S, NAKARI U, RUUTU P, KELA E, HEINASMAKI T, SIITONEN A, NUORTI JP; Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (43rd: 2003: Chicago, Ill.).
Abstr Intersci Conf Antimicrob Agents Chemother Intersci Conf Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2003 Sep 14-17; 43: abstract no. L-184.
National Public Health Institute, Helsinki, Finland.
BACKGROUND: Yersinia pseudotuberculosis infections occur primarly in the northern hemisphere. In May 2001, two clusters of Y. pseudotuberculosis infections were identified among school children in two Finnish municipalities and notified through national outbreak notification system. Cases were also reported increasingly from other areas through national laboratory-based surveillance. METHODS: We conducted a population-based, nationwide case control study. Case patients had culture-confirmed Y. pseudotuberculosis infection reported to National Register for Infectious Diseases between 1st May and 31st July, 2001. Healthy community controls identified through the Population Register Centre were matched on age, gender, and postal code. Y. pseudotuberculosis isolates were subtyped by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). RESULTS: A total of 89 culture-confirmed cases were reported during 2001. Four PFGE patterns accounted for 80% of these Y. pseudotuberculosis infections. We enrolled 25 case-patients and 71 controls in a case-control study. Illness was associated with consumption of iceberg lettuce, which 79% of case-patients reported eating compared with 40% of the controls (matched OR, 5.7; 95% CI, 1.6-47.7). In addition, 96% of the case-patients reported eating outside their home, compared with 64% of the controls (matched OR, 11.2; 95% CI, 2.6-390.4). CONCLUSIONS: Y. pseudotuberculosis infections are an important public health problem in Finland. National, low threshold reporting of suspected food-borne outbreaks and continuous laboratory-based surveillance enabled rapid detection and investigation of this geographically dispersed outbreak. Molecular typing methods, such as PFGE, are useful tools in identifying outbreaks. As eating outside the home was strongly associated with the illness, hygienic measures in commercial and institutional kitchens serving fresh produce should be evaluated to identify measures to prevent outbreaks.
Publication Types:
Keywords:
- Case-Control Studies
- Child
- Communicable Diseases
- Disease Outbreaks
- Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field
- Finland
- Humans
- Lettuce
- Yersinia pseudotuberculosis Infections
Other ID:
UI: 102265573
From Meeting Abstracts