Investigation and management of an outbreak of Salmonella Typhimurium DT8 associated with duck eggs, Ireland 2009 to 2011

P Garvey; P McKeown; P Kelly; M Cormican; W Anderson; A Flack; S Barron; N De Lappe; J Buckley; C Cosgrove; D Molloy; J O’Connor; P O’Sullivan; J Matthews; M Ward; A Breslin; M B O’Sullivan; K Kelleher; A McNamara; C Foley-Nolan; H Pelly; F Cloak; Collective Outbreak control team

doi:10.2807/ese.18.16.20454-en

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Investigation and management of an outbreak of Salmonella Typhimurium DT8 associated with duck eggs, Ireland 2009 to 2011
P Garvey¹ , P McKeown¹ , P Kelly² , M Cormican³ , W Anderson⁴ , A Flack² , S Barron² , N De Lappe³ , J Buckley⁵ , C Cosgrove⁶ , D Molloy⁶ , J O’Connor³ , P O’Sullivan⁷ , J Matthews⁴ , M Ward⁸ , A Breslin⁹ , M B O’Sullivan¹⁰ , K Kelleher¹¹ , A McNamara¹² , C Foley-Nolan¹³ , H Pelly¹⁴ , F Cloak¹ , Collective Outbreak control team¹⁵
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Affiliations: ¹ Health Protection Surveillance Centre, Dublin, Ireland ² Irish Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Dublin, Ireland ³ National Salmonella, Shigella and Listeria Reference Laboratory, Medical Microbiology Department, University Hospital Galway, Galway, Ireland ⁴ Food Safety Authority of Ireland, Dublin, Ireland ⁵ Veterinary Department, Cork County Council, Cork, Ireland ⁶ Health Service Executive, Communicable Disease Unit of the Environmental Health Service, Blanchardstown Dublin, Ireland ⁷ Department of Public Health, Health Service Executive Mid-West, Department of Public Health, HSE West, Limerick, Ireland ⁸ Department of Public Health, Health Service Executive East, Dr Steeven's Hospital, Dublin, Irelan ⁹ Department of Public Health Medicine, Health Service Executive North West, Sligo, Ireland ¹⁰ Department of Public Health, Health Service Executive South, Wilton, Cork, Ireland ¹¹ National Office for Health Protection, Health Service Executive Offices, Limerick, Ireland ¹² Department of Public Health, Health Service Executive Dublin/Mid-Leinster, Tullamore Co. Offaly, Ireland ¹³ Food Safety Promotion Board, Cork, Ireland ¹⁴ Department of Public Health, Health Service Executive West, Merlin Park Hospital, Galway, Ireland ¹⁵ The remaining members of the team are listed at the end of the article

Correspondence:
P Garvey
patricia.garvey hse.ie
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Citation style for this article: Garvey P, McKeown P, Kelly P, Cormican M, Anderson W, Flack A, Barron S, De Lappe N, Buckley J, Cosgrove C, Molloy D, O’Connor J, O’Sullivan P, Matthews J, Ward M, Breslin A, O’Sullivan M B, Kelleher K, McNamara A, Foley-Nolan C, Pelly H, Cloak F, Outbreak control team Collective. Investigation and management of an outbreak of Salmonella Typhimurium DT8 associated with duck eggs, Ireland 2009 to 2011. Euro Surveill. 2013;18(16):pii=20454. https://doi.org/10.2807/ese.18.16.20454-en Received: 07 May 2012

Abstract

>Salmonella Typhimurium DT8 was a very rare cause of human illness in Ireland between 2000 and 2008, with only four human isolates from three patients being identified. Over a 19-month period between August 2009 and February 2011, 34 confirmed cases and one probable case of Salmonella Typhimurium DT8 were detected, all of which had an MLVA pattern 2-10-NA-12-212 or a closely related pattern. The epidemiological investigations strongly supported a link between illness and exposure to duck eggs. Moreover, S. Typhimurium with an MLVA pattern indistinguishable (or closely related) to the isolates from human cases, was identified in 22 commercial and backyard duck flocks, twelve of which were linked with known human cases. A range of control measures were taken at farm level, and advice was provided to consumers on the hygienic handling and cooking of duck eggs. Although no definitive link was established with a concurrent duck egg-related outbreak of S. Typhimurium DT8 in the United Kingdom, it seems likely that the two events were related. It may be appropriate for other countries with a tradition of consuming duck eggs to consider the need for measures to reduce the risk of similar outbreaks.