Emergence of Salmonella enteritidis Phage Type 4 in the Caribbean: Case-Control Study in Trinidad and Tobago, West Indies

• Published in: Clinical infectious diseases Vol. 32; no. 6; pp. 890 - 896
• Main Authors: Indar-Harrinauth, Lisa, Daniels, Nicholas, Prabhakar, Parimi, Brown, Clive, Baccus-Taylor, Gail, Comissiong, Edward, Hospedales, James
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Chicago, IL The University of Chicago Press 15.03.2001; University of Chicago Press
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Bacterial diseases; Bacterial diseases of the digestive system and abdomen; Bacteriophages; Biological and medical sciences; Case control studies; Child; Child, Preschool; Diseases; Eggs; Epidemiology; Female; Food; Foodborne illnesses; Human bacterial diseases; Humans; Infant; Infections; Infectious diseases; Major Article; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Multivariate Analysis; Predisposing factors; Prospective Studies; Raw eggs; Risk Factors; Salmonella enteritidis; Salmonella enteritidis - classification; Salmonella enteritidis - isolation & purification; Salmonella Food Poisoning - epidemiology; Salmonella Food Poisoning - etiology; Salmonella Food Poisoning - microbiology; Trinidad and Tobago; Trinidad and Tobago - epidemiology; Tropical medicine; Central America; Trinidad and Tobago; America; West Indies; Human; Salmonella enteritidis; Egg; Gastroenteritis; Case control study; Epidemiology; Infection; Virus; Microbiological investigation; Etiology; Food poisoning; Risk factor; Bacteriosis; Digestive diseases; Bacteria; Intestinal disease; Salmonellosis; Enterobacteriaceae; Gastric disease; Phage
• ISSN: 1058-4838; 1537-6591
• DOI: 10.1086/319344

A prospective case-control study involving 46 case patients and 92 age- and neighborhood-matched control subjects was conducted in Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) between March 1998 and May 1999 to determine the etiology, sources, and risk factors for Salmonella enteritidis (SE) infection. SE infection in T&T was found to be associated with the consumption of shell eggs, and in particular raw or undercooked eggs. SE isolates from 30 (88%) of 34 patients and from 9 implicated egg or egg-containing food samples were phage type 4. Homemade eggnog and ice cream, cake batter, and egg-containing beverages were the main raw egg-containing foods, reflecting the cultural practices of the people of T&T. Public health education on the risks of eating raw or undercooked eggs, thorough cooking of all egg dishes, and refrigeration of shell eggs and egg dishes; studies tracing infected eggs to their sources; and testing of flocks of layer chickens for SE are needed to reduce the incidence of this infection.