Abstract
Salmonella enterica serotype Muenster (hereafter referred to as S. Muenster) is rare in France and in Europe. In France, a nationwide outbreak of gastrointestinal illness due to S. Muenster occurred during March and April 2008. Twenty-five laboratory-confirmed cases of S. Muenster were documented by telephone using a trawling questionnaire. Four patients were admitted to hospital and no death was recorded. Among the 21 interviewed cases, 16 reported consumption of goat's cheese in the days prior to symptoms. The investigation incriminated goat's cheese from producer X as being the most likely source of the outbreak. S. Muenster was isolated from both cases and the incriminated goat's cheese. The pulsed-field gel electrophoresis profiles of the food isolates of producer X and the isolates from cases were indistinguishable. Following the withdrawal of the contaminated batch of cheese, the number of cases decreased to its usual level. To our knowledge, this is the first published outbreak of S. Muenster associated with food consumption in Europe.
Highlights
In France, the surveillance of Salmonella isolates of human and non-human origin is laboratory-based
Cases were reported by the National Reference Centre (NRC) for Salmonella and clusters of cases were identified through the mandatory notification of suspected food poisoning
Muenster were reported by the NRC to the
Summary
In France, the surveillance of Salmonella isolates of human and non-human origin is laboratory-based. The National Reference Centre (NRC) for Salmonella at the Institut Pasteur in Paris collects human isolates through a voluntary network of approximately 1,500 medical laboratories (corresponding to 30% of all French clinical laboratories). Food and environmental isolates are collected by the French Food Safety Agency (Afssa) through a national voluntary network of 160 veterinary and food laboratories. An outbreak investigation is conducted by the DDASS and veterinarians from the district veterinary service (Direction Départementale des Services Vétérinaires, DDSV), if necessary with the assistance of the French Institute of Public Health Surveillance (Institut de veille sanitaire, InVS). Salmonellosis is the largest documented cause of foodborne infections in France [1], Salmonella enterica serotype Muenster An investigation was conducted in order to confirm the outbreak, determine its extent, identify the source of infection and put in place control measures
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