A foodborne outbreak due to Cryptosporidium parvum in Helsinki, November 2008

A Pönka; H Kotilainen; R Rimhanen-Finne; P Hokkanen; M L Hänninen; A Kaarna; T Meri; M Kuusi

doi:10.2807/ese.14.28.19269-en

Surveillance and outbreak reports Open Access

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A foodborne outbreak due to Cryptosporidium parvum in Helsinki, November 2008
A Pönka¹ , H Kotilainen² , R Rimhanen-Finne³ , P Hokkanen¹ , M L Hänninen⁴ , A Kaarna² , T Meri⁵ , M Kuusi³
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Affiliations: ¹ Food Control Unit, Helsinki City Health Department, Finland ² Epidemiology Unit, Helsinki City Health Department, Finland ³ National Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland ⁴ Department of Food and Environmental Hygiene, University of Helsinki, Finland ⁵ Helsinki University Central Hospital Laboratory HUSLAB, Helsinki, Finland

Correspondence:
A Pönka
antti.ponka hel.fi
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Citation style for this article: Pönka A, Kotilainen H, Rimhanen-Finne R, Hokkanen P, Hänninen M L, Kaarna A, Meri T, Kuusi M. A foodborne outbreak due to Cryptosporidium parvum in Helsinki, November 2008. Euro Surveill. 2009;14(28):pii=19269. https://doi.org/10.2807/ese.14.28.19269-en Received: 06 Apr 2009

Abstract

We report the first foodborne outbreak caused by Cryptosporidium parvum in Finland. The outbreak occurred among personnel of the Public Works Department in Helsinki, who had eaten in the same canteen. 72 persons fell ill with diarrhoea, none was hospitalised. Four faecal samples obtained from 12 ill persons were positive for Cryptosporidium by an antigen identification assay and microscopy. The vehicle of infection could not be identified with certainty but a salad mixture was suspected.