Ameme Donne Kofi, Abdulai Marijanatu, Adjei Eric Yirenkyi, Afari Edwin Andrews, Nyarko Kofi Mensah, Asante Dwamena, Kye-Duodu Gideon, Abbas Mona, Sackey Samuel, Wurapa Fred
Ghana Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Programme (GFELTP), School of Public Health, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana.
Upper West Akim District Health Directorate, Adeiso, Ghana.
Pan Afr Med J. 2016 Mar 9;23:69. doi: 10.11604/pamj.2016.23.69.7660. eCollection 2016.
Foodborne diseases (FBD) have emerged as a major public health problem worldwide. Though the global burden of FBD is currently unknown, foodborne diarrhoeal diseases kill 1.9 million children globally every year. On 25th September 2014, health authorities in Eastern Region of Ghana were alerted of a suspected FBD outbreak involving patrons of a community food joint. We investigated to determine the magnitude, source and implement control and preventive measures.
A retrospective cohort study was conducted. We reviewed medical records for data on demographics and clinical features. A suspected foodborne disease was any person in the affected community with abdominal pain, vomiting and or diarrhea between 25(th) and 30(th) September 2014 and had eaten from the food joint. We conducted active case search, descriptive data analysis and calculated food specific attack rate ratios (ARR) and their corresponding 95% confidence intervals.
Of 43 case-patients, 44.2% (19/43) were males; median age was 19 years (interquartile range: 17-24 years). Overall attack rate was 43.4% (43/99) with no fatality. Case counts rose sharply for four hours to a peak and fell to baseline levels after 12 hours. Compared to those who ate other food items, patrons who ate "waakye" and "shitor" were more likely to develop foodborne disease [ARR = 4.1 (95% CI = 1.09-15.63)]. Food samples and specimens from case-patients were unavailable for testing. Laboratory diagnostic capacity was also weak.
A point source FBD outbreak linked to probable contaminated "waakye" and or "shitor" occurred. Missed opportunities for definitive diagnosis highlighted the need for strengthening local response capacity.
食源性疾病已成为全球主要的公共卫生问题。尽管目前尚不清楚食源性疾病的全球负担，但食源性腹泻疾病每年在全球导致190万儿童死亡。2014年9月25日，加纳东部地区的卫生当局收到警报，称一个社区食品摊点的顾客疑似爆发食源性疾病。我们进行了调查，以确定疾病规模、源头并实施控制和预防措施。
开展了一项回顾性队列研究。我们查阅了病历，以获取人口统计学和临床特征数据。疑似食源性疾病患者为2014年9月25日至30日期间在受影响社区出现腹痛、呕吐和/或腹泻且在该食品摊点就餐的任何人。我们进行了主动病例搜索、描述性数据分析，并计算了特定食物的罹患率比（ARR）及其相应的95%置信区间。
在43例病例患者中，44.2%（19/43）为男性；年龄中位数为19岁（四分位间距：17 - 24岁）。总体罹患率为43.4%（43/99），无死亡病例。病例数在4小时内急剧上升至峰值，12小时后降至基线水平。与食用其他食品的人相比，食用“waakye”和“shitor”的顾客更易患食源性疾病[ARR = 4.1（95%CI = 1.09 - 15.63）]。无法获取病例患者的食品样本和标本进行检测。实验室诊断能力也很薄弱。
发生了一起与可能受污染的“waakye”和/或“shitor”相关的点源食源性疾病暴发。明确诊断的机会错失凸显了加强当地应对能力的必要性。
