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Foodborne outbreaks, Austria 2007

Lebensmittelbedingte Krankheitsausbrüche, Österreich 2007

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Zusammenfassung

Im Jahr 2007 wurden in Österreich 438 lebensmittelbedingte Krankheitsausbrüche, mit 1.715 Erkrankten (davon 286 Hospitalisierte und ein Todesfall) berichtet. Für 95% aller Ausbrüche waren Salmonella spp. und Campylobacter spp. verantwortlich. Von den 438 berichteten Ausbrüchen wurden 48 (11%) im Ausland erworben. Von 390 im Inland akquirierten lebensmittelbedingten Krankheitsausbrüchen wurden 376 durch Bakterien, 11 durch Viren (Noroviren und einmal Hepatitis-A-Virus), zwei durch Intoxikation (einmal durch Staphylococcus aureus Enterotoxin, einmal durch Alkaloide) verursacht. Bei einem Ausbruch wurde als Erreger unbekannt angegeben. Die bakteriell bedingten Ausbrüche teilen sich wie folgt auf: 264 (70%) durch Salmonella spp., 104 (28%) durch Campylobacter spp., sechs Ausbrüche durch enterohämorrhagische Escherichia coli (EHEC O145:H-, O157:H-, O157:H7, O182: H49, O91:H7, ONT:H4), jeweils ein Ausbruch durch Shigella flexneri und Shigella sonnei. Hospitalisiert wurden 22% bzw. 14% der im Inland an einem Ausbruch durch Salmonella spp.- bzw. Campylobacter spp. erkrankten Personen. Das Lebensmittel Ei zeichnete alleine für 49% aller inländischen Ausbrüche mit berichteter Infektionsquelle verantwortlich. Fleisch (besonders Geflügelfleisch) war für 44% der inländischen Ausbrüche und Fisch für 2% verantwortlich. Das Verhältnis Haushaltsausbrüche zu allgemeinen Ausbrüchen beträgt 82,3% zu 17,7%. Bei 54 von 62 allgemeinen inländischen Ausbrüchen wurden folgende Orte der Exposition benannt: öffentliche Verköstigungen (z.B. Restaurant, Hotel) 24-mal, Familienfeier, Kindergarten, Take-away oder Grillfest 22-mal, Altersheime oder Krankenhäuser 8-mal. Der hohe Anteil an Haushaltsausbrüchen reflektiert unseres Erachtens nach vor allem die noch nicht vollständig ausgeschöpfte epidemiologische Qualität der Ausbruchsabklärungen, i.e. fehlende Zusammenführung einzelner kleiner lebensmittelbedingter Ausbrüche zu bezirks- und bundesländerübergreifenden Ausbrüchen.

Summary

In 2007 Austria reported a total of 438 foodborne outbreaks affecting 1715 people, including 286 hospitalized patients and one death. Salmonella spp. and Campylobacter spp. accounted for 95% of all reported outbreaks. Forty-eight (11%) of the 438 Austrian outbreaks were acquired abroad. Of the 390 domestically acquired foodborne outbreaks, bacterial infection caused 376, viruses (norovirus and 1-time hepatitis A virus) caused 11, and intoxications (Staphylococcus aureus enterotoxins, alkaloid toxins) caused two. In one outbreak the causative agent was unknown. Salmonella spp. caused 264 (70%) of the bacterial outbreaks, Campylobacter spp. caused 104 (28%), enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC O145:H-, O157:H-, O157:H7, O182: H49, O91:H7, ONT:H4) caused six, Shigella flexneri and Shigella sonnei each caused two. The hospitalization rates were 22% for domestically acquired infections with Salmonella spp. and 14% for Campylobacter spp. Among outbreaks where the source was known, eggs were implicated in 49%, meat products (especially poultry) in 44% and fish in 2%. The ratio of household outbreaks to general outbreaks was 82.3% to 17.7%. In 54 of the 62 general domestic outbreaks the following locations of exposure were documented: commercial food suppliers (e.g. restaurants, cafeterias) 24 times, family celebrations, nursery schools, take-aways and barbecues 22 times, nursing homes and hospitals eight times. It is likely that the relatively high number of household outbreaks reflects an insufficient level of epidemiological investigation of outbreaks in Austria. More resources may be needed for identification of individual clusters that belong to larger foodborne outbreaks exceeding district or provincial borders.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety (AGES), Vienna, Austria

    Peter Much, Juliane Pichler, Sabine S. Kasper & Franz Allerberger

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  1. Peter Much
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  2. Juliane Pichler
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  3. Sabine S. Kasper
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  4. Franz Allerberger
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Correspondence to Peter Much.

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Much, P., Pichler, J., Kasper, S. et al. Foodborne outbreaks, Austria 2007. Wien Klin Wochenschr 121, 77–85 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00508-008-1125-z

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