A major outbreak of foodborne gastroenteritis among Air Force personnel during Operation Desert Storm.

An outbreak of foodborne gastroenteritis affected 648 United States Air Force personnel stationed in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia during Operation Desert Storm. The implicated food source was a locally catered meal. Despite the presence of an aggressive Air Force public health program, foodborne illness had a major impact on manpower and medical resources during a critical phase of military operations. It is the recommendation of the authors that the Air Force not rely on local caterers during future deployments.