A Foodborne Outbreak of Gastroenteritis Caused by Vibrio parahaemolyticus and Norovirus through Non-Seafood Vehicle

Yanhui Liu; Yat Hung Tam; Jun Yuan; Fengling Chen; Wenfeng Cai; Jianping Liu; Xiaowei Ma; Chaojun Xie; Chuangliang Zheng; Li Zhuo; Xianbang Cao; Hailing Tan; Baisheng Li; Huaping Xie; Yufei Liu; Dennis Ip

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0137848

A Foodborne Outbreak of Gastroenteritis Caused by Vibrio parahaemolyticus and Norovirus through Non-Seafood Vehicle

PLoS One. 2015 Sep 16;10(9):e0137848. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0137848. eCollection 2015.

Authors

Yanhui Liu¹, Yat Hung Tam², Jun Yuan¹, Fengling Chen³, Wenfeng Cai⁴, Jianping Liu⁴, Xiaowei Ma⁴, Chaojun Xie⁴, Chuangliang Zheng⁵, Li Zhuo⁶, Xianbang Cao⁵, Hailing Tan⁷, Baisheng Li⁷, Huaping Xie⁴, Yufei Liu⁴, Dennis Ip²

Affiliations

¹ Guangzhou Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China; Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
² School of Public Health, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
³ Foshan Chancheng District Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Foshan, Guangdong, China.
⁴ Guangzhou Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
⁵ Guangzhou Luogang District Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
⁶ The Eighth People's Hospital of Guangzhou, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
⁷ Guangdong Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.

Abstract

Foodborne outbreaks caused by a mixed infection of Vibrio parahaemolyticus and norovirus have rarely been described. We reported a mixed outbreak of Vibrio parahaemolyticus and norovirus causing acute gastroenteritis in 99 staff members of a company in Guangdong, China, in May 2013, following consumption of roasted duck, an uncommon non-seafood vehicle for such mixed infection, in one meal served in the company's catering service. Epidemiological and laboratory findings indicated that a single asymptomatic food handler was the source of both pathogens, and the high rate of infection of both pathogens was exacerbated by the setting's suboptimal food hygiene practice.

Publication types

Comparative Study
Randomized Controlled Trial
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Adult
Caliciviridae Infections / epidemiology*
Caliciviridae Infections / virology
Case-Control Studies
China
Disease Outbreaks*
Female
Food Contamination*
Food Handling
Gastroenteritis / epidemiology*
Gastroenteritis / microbiology
Gastroenteritis / virology
Humans
Male
Meat / adverse effects*
Middle Aged
Norovirus / isolation & purification*
Seafood
Vibrio Infections / epidemiology*
Vibrio Infections / virology
Vibrio parahaemolyticus / isolation & purification*
Young Adult

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the grant from the Medical Science and Technology Research Project of Guangzhou Municipality (Grant No. 20151A011047).