India Epidemic Intelligence Services Officer, Division of Epidemiology, National Centre for Disease Control, Delhi, India.
State Surveillance Officer, Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme, Punjab, India.
Indian J Public Health. 2021 Jan;65(Supplement):S41-S45. doi: 10.4103/ijph.IJPH_1112_20.
In December 2018, an acute gastroenteritis outbreak was reported from Faridpur-Gujjran village, Patiala district, Punjab, India.
The objective of this study was to describe the epidemiology and risk factors of the outbreak and recommend prevention measures.
We conducted a descriptive study and a retrospective cohort study in the village. We defined a case as vomiting or ≥3 loose feces in 24 h plus abdominal pain and/or fever in a resident of the village during December 23-28, 2018. To find cases, we conducted a house-to-house survey; to identify risk factors, we conducted a retrospective cohort study. Fecal specimens were tested for enteric pathogens; water samples were tested for fecal contamination. We also interviewed food handlers. We compared attack rates by level of exposure. From the cohort study, we calculated risk ratios with 95% confidence intervals.
From the 261 residents of the village, we identified 116 cases (attack rate 44%) and no deaths. The median age of affected persons was 27.5 years (range 0.5-80 years). The illness was associated with eating in a community kitchen of a temple during December 23-24, 2018. Eating mixed vegetables was associated with illness. We found no pathogens in fecal specimens. All three water samples showed coliform contamination. Cooked food had been left at room temperature before serving.
Improper storage practices might have led to microbial proliferation of the food served. Our findings will help guide the enforcement of food safety policies for community kitchens.
2018 年 12 月，印度旁遮普邦帕蒂亚拉区法里达巴德-古杰兰村报告了一起急性胃肠炎暴发事件。
本研究旨在描述暴发的流行病学和危险因素，并提出预防措施。
我们在该村进行了一项描述性研究和一项回顾性队列研究。我们将在 2018 年 12 月 23 日至 28 日期间，出现呕吐或 24 小时内排≥3 次稀便，以及腹痛和/或发热的居民定义为病例。为发现病例，我们进行了逐户调查；为确定危险因素，我们进行了回顾性队列研究。采集粪便标本检测肠道病原体；采集水样检测粪便污染。我们还对食品处理人员进行了访谈。我们比较了不同暴露水平的发病率。根据队列研究，我们计算了风险比及其 95%置信区间。
在该村的 261 名居民中，我们共发现了 116 例病例（发病率为 44%），没有死亡病例。受影响人群的中位年龄为 27.5 岁（范围 0.5-80 岁）。此次疾病与 2018 年 12 月 23 日至 24 日在寺庙的社区厨房集体用餐有关。食用混合蔬菜与发病相关。我们在粪便标本中未发现病原体。所有 3 个水样均显示出大肠菌群污染。熟食在供应前曾放在室温下。
不当的储存操作可能导致所供应食物中的微生物大量繁殖。我们的发现将有助于指导社区厨房食品安全政策的执行。
