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Foodborne outbreaks of hepatitis A in a low endemic country: an emerging problem?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 1998

R. G. PEBODY ,
T. LEINO ,
P. RUUTU ,
L. KINNUNEN ,
I. DAVIDKIN ,
H. NOHYNEK  and
P. LEINIKKI
R. G. PEBODY
Affiliation:
Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, National Public Health Institute, Mannerheimintie 170, Helsinki 0030, Finland European Programme for Intervention Epidemiology Training
T. LEINO
Affiliation:
Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, National Public Health Institute, Mannerheimintie 170, Helsinki 0030, Finland
P. RUUTU
Affiliation:
Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, National Public Health Institute, Mannerheimintie 170, Helsinki 0030, Finland
L. KINNUNEN
Affiliation:
Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, National Public Health Institute, Mannerheimintie 170, Helsinki 0030, Finland
I. DAVIDKIN
Affiliation:
Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, National Public Health Institute, Mannerheimintie 170, Helsinki 0030, Finland
H. NOHYNEK
Affiliation:
Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, National Public Health Institute, Mannerheimintie 170, Helsinki 0030, Finland
P. LEINIKKI
Affiliation:
Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, National Public Health Institute, Mannerheimintie 170, Helsinki 0030, Finland
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Abstract

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This paper describes 2 outbreaks of hepatitis A infection in Finland, a very low endemic area of hepatitis A infection, where a large proportion of the population is now susceptible to infection by hepatitis A virus (HAV). The first outbreak involved people attending several schools and day-care centres; the second employees of several bank branches in a different city. The initial investigation revealed that both were related to food distributed widely from separate central kitchens. Two separate case-control studies implicated imported salad food items as the most likely vehicle of infection. HAV was detected in the stool of cases from both outbreaks using reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction; however, comparison of viral genome sequences proved that the viruses were of different origin and hence the outbreaks, although occurring simultaneously, were not linked. Foodborne outbreaks of HAV may represent an increasing problem in populations not immune to HAV.

Type
Research Article
Information
Epidemiology & Infection , Volume 120 , Issue 1 , February 1998 , pp. 55 - 59
Copyright
© 1998 Cambridge University Press