An outbreak of viral gastroenteritis following a wedding reception.

Thirty-five people developed gastrointestinal symptoms after a wedding reception attended by 147 guests and served by eight catering staff. A retrospective cohort study showed that illness was associated independently with consumption of a pasta dish and spring rolls. The descriptive epidemiology, obtained from interviews with the guests about foods they had eaten and the onset and duration of symptoms, suggested that the outbreak was likely to have been caused by a small round structured virus (SRSV). No pathogenic bacteria were isolated from cases or samples of food served at the reception. Electron microscopy of three stool specimens revealed no viruses, but SRSV was subsequently identified by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction in one of two stool specimens. Environmental investigation in the kitchen revealed a number of deficiencies.