A Multi-County and Multi-State Outbreak of Salmonella enteriditis (group D) Among Oriental Restaurant and Market Patrons

In the reporting week of May 7, 2001, Infection Control Practitioners from two large Orlando, Florida area hospitals reported unusual numbers of Salmonella sp. Group D cases to the Orange County Health Department. Cases were diagnosed with diarrheal illness, treated and released or admitted. Reported cases totaled approximately twice the number seen in background surveillance. Exposure questioning revealed that fourteen of the first 15 reported cases had history of eating at Asian restaurants or purchasing foods from oriental markets within three days of onset. A rapid assessment of food items consumed indicated that mung bean sprouts was the single common food item among fourteen of the initial fifteen (93.3%) reported ill. Hospital laboratories that isolated cultures were contacted to request all Salmonella group D subcultures be forwarded to the Florida Department of Health Laboratories in Jacksonville for Pulsed Field Gel Electrophoresis (PFGE) analysis.