Two successive outbreaks of acute gastroenteritis due to norovirus GII.6 in a holiday camp house.

When two outbreaks occur in the same institution within a short period of time, an important health and social concern is generated. Two gastroenteritis outbreaks occurring a week apart in the same facility were reported in Lleida, Spain, in 2018. The objective of this study was to describe the clinical, epidemiological and microbiological investigation carried out and to determine the risk factors. Demographic data, food consumption and symptoms were collected. Health inspections of the facility were carried out. Risk ratio and their 95% confidence intervals were estimated for the implication of each food consumed. The attack rate was 89.7% in the first outbreak and 69.6% in the second outbreak. The most frequent symptoms in the first and second outbreak were abdominal pain (88.5% and 100%, respectively), vomiting (80.8% and 87.5%, respectively) and nausea (69.2% and 81.3%, respectively). The first outbreak was associated with the consumption of a salad and the second with a cheese omelet. Norovirus GII.6 was detected by RT-PCR and sequenced in both groups of students and in the food handlers who prepared the meals. These results highlight the importance of exclusion from work of food handlers with gastroenteritis, the adequate availability of mechanisms for correct hand washing and the correct cleaning of surfaces.

[Outbreak of whooping cough with a high attack rate in well-vaccinated children and adolescents]. / Brote de tos ferina con elevada tasa de ataque en niños y adolescentes bien vacunados.

INTRODUCTION: Whooping cough is a re-emerging disease. We describe the investigation of an outbreak of whooping cough and the measures of control adopted. METHODS: The event was reconstructed through a longitudinal study of incidence. In addition to the notified cases, an active search from the list of those who attended summer camps was made through telephone calls. An epidemiological survey was applied to all cases; vaccination history was confirmed with computerised clinical history and the obtaining of samples for analytical confirmation was proposed. The description of the outbreak was made through the epidemic curve, the attack rates, the relative risk and the linear trend by ages and the vaccination coverage. RESULTS: Of the 30 cases that appeared, 22 (73.3%) were among the members of the summer camps. In these, the attack rate was 21.8%, 26.7% among the children and adolescents increasing linearly with the age. The large majority (86.4%) of this last group were correctly vaccinated, including the fifth dose at the age of 4-6 years. Through the meticulous study of the first cases and the telephone calls to those who attended the summer camp, 90% of the cases of the outbreak were detected. CONCLUSIONS: The active search of cases allowed an outbreak of whooping cough with a high attack rate to be studied in children and adolescents with a high vaccination coverage, and the application of control measures that contributed to stop the outbreak.

[Compliance with the partner notification of HIV/STI patients in the counties of Lleida]. / Cumplimiento del estudio de contactos de personas diagnosticadas de VIH/ITS en las comarcas de Lleida.

OBJECTIVE: The partner notification is one of the main activities of epidemiological surveillance in Public Health. The primary objective was to estimate the compliance of the partner notification by health professionals who reported sexually transmitted diseases (HIV, Gonorrhoea, Syphilis and Chlamydia) during 2017 in Lleida's regions. METHODS: We carried out a descriptive epidemiological study of prevalence about the compliance of partner notification. Data collection was done by epidemiological surveys of these notifiable diseases and additional information was recovered through medical record and interview with professionals. The factors associated with the lack of partner notification were studied through the odds ratio (OR) and its 95% confidence interval (CI). ORs were adjusted (ORa) with multivariate logistic regression models. RESULTS: We studied 203 STD cases with an average age of 30.6 years (SD=11.1); 32.5% were women. There was 46.3% without partner notification. The main cause of this absence was the lack of patient cooperation (23.4%). The variables associated with the lack of partner notification were the male sex (aOR-3.5; CI95%=1.6-7.5), gonococcal infection (aOR-4.9; CI95%=1.2-19.8), chlamydia infection (aOR-3.9; CI95%=0.9-16.1) and homosexual/bisexual sexual orientation (aOR-2.2; CI95%=0.9-5.4). CONCLUSIONS: Compliance of partner notification is low and it is related to male sex, sexual orientation (homosexual/bisexual/transsexual) and type of infection (Gonorrhoea and Chlamydia). Reducing the social stigma associated with sexual orientation and improving the information of health professionals could favour the contact studies.

OBJETIVO: El estudio de contactos constituye una de las principales actividades de vigilancia epidemiológica en salud pública. El objetivo principal de este estudio fue estimar el grado de su cumplimiento por parte de los profesionales que informaron sobre las infecciones de transmisión sexual (VIH/gonococia/sífilis/clamidia) en el año 2017 en las comarcas de Lleida. METODOS: Se realizó un estudio descriptivo de prevalencia sobre el cumplimiento del estudio de contactos. Se recogió la información de las encuestas epidemiológicas de las enfermedades citadas y se recuperó información de la realización del estudio de contactos mediante las historias clínicas y el contacto con los profesionales. Se estudiaron los factores asociados a la falta de estudio de contactos mediante un modelo multivariado de regresión logística y el cálculo de la odds ratio ajustada (ORa), con sus intervalos de confianza (IC) del 95%. RESULTADOS: Se estudiaron 203 casos de ITS, con una edad media de 30,6 años (±11,1). El 32,5% eran mujeres. El porcentaje de casos diagnosticados sin estudio de contactos fue del 46,3%, causado principalmente por la falta de colaboración del paciente (23,4%). Las variables asociadas a la falta de estudio de contactos fueron el sexo masculino (ORa=3,5; IC95%=1,6­7,5), la infección gonocócica (ORa=4,9; IC95%=1,2-19,8), la infección por clamidia (ORa=3,9; IC95%=0,9-16,1) y la orientación sexual homosexual/bisexual (ORa=2,2; IC 95%=0,9-5,4). CONCLUSIONES: El cumplimiento de los estudios de contactos es bajo y se relaciona con el sexo masculino, la orientación sexual (homosexual/bisexual) y el tipo de infección (gonococia/clamidia). Reducir el estigma asociado a la orientación sexual y mejorar la información de los profesionales podría favorecer su correcto cumplimiento.

[Outbreak of food-borne Norovirus associated with the consumption of sandwiches]. / Toxiinfección alimentaria por Norovirus debida al consumo de bocadillos.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to conduct an investigation into an outbreak of food-borne disease at a hotel, when epidemiological and microbiological results determined that the etiological agent was Norovirus and the source of infection was food handlers. PATIENTS AND METHOD: We detected an outbreak of gastroenteritis in a group of 59 students and teachers from a secondary school who were staying at a hotel in Espot, Lleida (Spain). A historic cohort study was conducted into the consumption of water and food and clinical symptoms were also analyzed. We studied the water supply and various food items. Faecal specimens from 14 patients and four food handlers were cultured and examined for Norovirus by PCR-RT. The influence of each foodstuff was assessed by relative risk (RR) at 95% confidence intervals. RESULTS: We interviewed 96.6% of the patients (57/59). The overall attack rate was 66.7% (38/57). The median period of incubation was 25.0 hours (maxim 59 and minimum 19 hours). Symptoms included abdominal pain 94.7% (36/38), vomiting 86.8% (33/38), nausea 76.3% (29/38), diarrhoea 52.6% (20/38) and fever 48.6% (17/35). Of the four different kinds of drinking water and 13 food items studied, the only significant factor was the consumption of sandwiches (RR = 2.3; CI 95%, 1.1-5.1). Cultures were negative for bacteria. PCR-RT tests were positive for Norovirus in 12 of 14 faecal samples. There were also positive results for the same virus in two of four faecal samples from food handlers, although neither of them presented clinical symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: This research highlights the fact that food-handlers should always be investigated in the case of outbreaks of food borne Norovirus. They must strictly follow hygiene rules, especially when they produce food that is to be eaten without any form of cooking.

[Contact investigation according to concentric circles in a case of laryngeal tuberculosis]. / Estudio de contactos según círculos concéntricos en un caso de tuberculosis laríngea.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the census and contact investigation in a case of laryngeal tuberculosis. METHODS: Based on a patient with laryngeal tuberculosis and through interviews and ocular inspection, we established three circles of contacts. The tuberculin test was performed (positive ≥5 mm). Persons testing positive were invited to undergo a chest x-ray. The association of the infection was calculated with the odds ratio. The exposure-response relationship was determined with the linear trend χ2 test. RESULTS: The overall prevalence of infection was 39.9% (67/168). The prevalence among coworkers was 60.0% (24/40), that among frequenters of the town bar was 43.3% (13/30) and the conversions rate was 12.9%. There was a relationship with the degree of exposure (p <0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Laryngeal tuberculosis involved high transmission to coworkers and frequenters of the town bar. In-depth studies through concentric circles and good communication with exposed individuals should be carried out.