Inara Siqueira de Carvalho Teixeira

Salmonella Alachua: causative agent of a foodborne disease outbreak

OBJECTIVES The aim of this study is to report the occurrence of the first outbreak of food poisoning caused by Salmonella Alachua in Brazil, as well as the antimicrobial susceptibility and the genetic relatedness of Salmonella Alachua strains isolated from clinical and food samples. MATERIAL AND METHODS To elucidate the outbreak, an epidemiological investigation was carried out, and two samples of common food were tested--mayonnaise salad and galinhada (a traditional Brazilian dish of chicken and rice)--according to the Compendium of methods for the microbiological examination of foods. Five stool samples were tested employing classic methods for the isolation and identification of enterobacteria. Strains of Salmonella were characterized for antibiotic susceptibility according to the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute guidelines (2013), and submitted to pulsed-field gel electrophoresis analysis, performed according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention PulseNet protocol. RESULTS A total of 94 people were interviewed after ingesting the food, 66 of whom had become ill. A 60-year old female patient who was hospitalized in a serious condition, developed septic shock and died two days after consuming the food. The presence of Salmonella Alachua was confirmed in all the analyzed stool samples, and in the two types of food. The five strains showed higher than minimum inhibitory concentration values of nalidixic acid (≥256 μg/mL) and reduced ciprofloxacin susceptibility (minimum inhibitory concentration=0.5 μg/mL). The pulsed-field gel electrophoresis analysis revealed indistinguishable patterns in Salmonella Alachua strains isolated from clinical and food samples. CONCLUSION The data presented herein confirm the foodborne disease outbreak. They also allowed for the identification of the source of infection, and suggest that products from poultry are potential reservoirs for this serotype, reinforcing the importance of warning consumers about the danger of possible contamination.

PROFISSIONAIS DE UM LABORATÓRIO DE SAÚDE PÚBLICA ESTIMULAM ESTUDANTES NA PREVENÇÃO DE DOENÇAS TRANSMITIDAS POR ALIMENTOS

Introduction: Educational activities focused on prevention are important tools to reduce outbreaks of foodborne illness. Objective: To verify whether, after educational lectures, students changed their habits to prevent foodborne diseases. Patients and Methods: Over four years, the staff and students of the Institute Adolfo Lutz, through the project “Itinerant Circuit of Lectures”, presented 41 talks and distributed a folder detailing the etiological agents, symptoms, and measures of prevention, conservation and handling of food to 1906 students in 12 private schools. Two months after the lectures an assessment tool comprising ten statements was applied to the students to see if they had changed their daily habits. Results: A total of 1555 students answered the questionnaire, with 81.5% having changed their habits, in particular students of the 6th, 7th and 8th grades of elementary school compared to students of the 9th grade, and 1st and 3rd grade of high school (p-value <0.05). The mean number of changes in habits related to the four personal hygiene items was 2.42 (SD 1.07), and for the six items on food care the mean number was 3.37 (SD 1.41). Conclusion: Popularization of science with educative actions proved to be effective, as 81.5% of young people changed their daily habits of personal hygiene and food care. Descriptors: Foodborne Diseases; Health Education; Food Contamination.