Another possible food-borne outbreak of hepatitis A in the Netherlands indicated by two closely related molecular sequences, July to October 2011

N Fournet; D Baas; W van Pelt; C Swaan; H J Ober; L Isken; J Cremer; I Friesema; H Vennema; I Boxman; M Koopmans; L Verhoef

doi:10.2807/ese.17.06.20079-en

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Another possible food-borne outbreak of hepatitis A in the Netherlands indicated by two closely related molecular sequences, July to October 2011
N Fournet^1,2 , D Baas³ , W van Pelt¹ , C Swaan⁴ , H J Ober⁵ , L Isken⁴ , J Cremer³ , I Friesema¹ , H Vennema³ , I Boxman⁵ , M Koopmans³ , L Verhoef³
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Affiliations: ¹ Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit, Center for Infectious Diseases Control, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (Rijksinstituut voor Volksgezondheid en Milieu, RIVM), Bilthoven, the Netherlands ² European Programme for Intervention Epidemiology Training (EPIET), European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), Stockholm, Sweden ³ Laboratory for Infectious Diseases and Screening, Centre for Infectious Disease Control, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (Rijksinstituut voor Volksgezondheid en Milieu, RIVM), Bilthoven, the Netherlands ⁴ Preparedness and Response Unit, Centre for Infectious Disease Control, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (Rijksinstituut voor Volksgezondheid en Milieu, RIVM), Bilthoven, the Netherlands ⁵ Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (Nederlandse Voedsel en Waren Autoriteit), Utrecht, the Netherlands

Correspondence:
N Fournet
nelly.fournet rivm.nl
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Citation style for this article: Fournet N, Baas D, van Pelt W, Swaan C, Ober H J, Isken L, Cremer J, Friesema I, Vennema H, Boxman I, Koopmans M, Verhoef L. Another possible food-borne outbreak of hepatitis A in the Netherlands indicated by two closely related molecular sequences, July to October 2011. Euro Surveill. 2012;17(6):pii=20079. https://doi.org/10.2807/ese.17.06.20079-en Received: 27 Jan 2012

Abstract

In November 2011, a cluster of initially five cases of hepatitis A infection with closely related strains was identified in the Netherlands. England reported possibly related cases. Strains with identical sequences had been involved in previous outbreaks linked to semi-dried tomatoes. Investigation of the Dutch cluster suggested a link with ready-to-eat salads including those containing semi-dried tomatoes. Despite trace-back, a source was not identified. Vigilance is needed, and rapid sharing of data may help source-tracing.