An outbreak of monophasic and biphasic SalmonellaTyphimurium, and Salmonella Derby associated with the consumption of dried pork sausage in Castellon (Spain) / Un brote de Salmonella Typhimurium monofásica y bifásica y Salmonella Derby asociado al consumo de longaniza seca de cerdo en Castellón (España)

An outbreak of S.Typhimurium occurred in several towns and cities in the province of Castellon (Spain) between 23 February and 27 May 2011. On April 5, the microbiology laboratory of a hospital in Castellon alerted the health authorities to the increase in S.Typhimurium isolated in fecal culture of children with gastroenteritis. The serotype and phage-type of 83 positive cases of S.Typhimurium isolated in these period included 49 monophasic/biphasic S.Typhimurium phage type 138, phage type 193, S.Derby, and 34 other S.Typhimurium phage-types. The median of age of patients was 4 years with a range of 0.6-80 years, and the 18% of patients were hospitalised. Two incident matched case-control studies were carried out; the first with S.Typhimurium phage type 138, 193, and S.Derby cases and the second with the other cases. The two studies found that the consumption of brand X dried pork sausage, purchased in a supermarket chain A, was associated with the disease (matched Odds Ratio [mOR]=13.74 95% Confidence Interval [CI] 4.84-39.06 and mOR=8.20 95% CI 2.32-28.89), respectively). S.Typhimurium phage type 193 and S.Derby were isolated in the food taken from the household of two patients and from the supermarket chain's A central warehouse. The pulsed-field gel electrophoresis study confirmed the similarity of the strains from the patients and the food. On May 25 2011, a national food alert led to the withdrawal of the food from the chain A and the outbreak ended

Entre el 23 de febrero y el 27 de mayo del 2011, un brote de Salmonella Typhimurium ocurrió en varios pueblos y ciudades en la provincia de Castellón (España). El día 5 de abril del 2011 el laboratorio de Microbiología de un hospital de Castellón alertó a las autoridades sanitarias del incremento de aislamientos de S.Typhimurium en coprocultivos de niños con gastroenteritis. El serotipo y fagotipo de 83 casos positivos a S.Typhimurium aislados en este periodo incluyó 49 casos con monofásica/bifásica S.Typhimurium fagotipo 138, fagotipo 193, y Salmonella Derby y otros 34 casos con distintos S.Typhimurium fagotipos. La mediana de los pacientes era de 4 años, con un rango de 0,6 a 80años. Dos incidentes casos-control apareados fueron llevados a cabo, el primero con los casos S.Typhimurium fagotipos 138,193 y S.Derby, y el segundo con los demás casos. Los 2 estudios encontraron que el consumo de la marca X de longaniza seca de cerdo comprada en una cadena de supermercados A estaba asociado con la enfermedad (odds ratio apareada [ORa]=13,74; intervalo de confianza [IC] del 95%: 4,84-39,06, y ORa=8,20; IC95%: 2,32-28,89, respectivamente). S.Typhimurium fagotipo 193 y S.Derby fueron aislados en dicho alimento recogido en la casa de 2 pacientes y en el almacén central de la cadena A de supermercados. La electroforesis en gel de campo pulsado confirmó la similitud de las cepas de los pacientes y del alimento. El día de 25 de mayo de 2011 una alerta alimentaria nacional obligó a la retirada del alimento de la cadena A y el brote terminó

An outbreak of monophasic and biphasic Salmonella Typhimurium, and Salmonella Derby associated with the consumption of dried pork sausage in Castellon (Spain).

An outbreak of S.Typhimurium occurred in several towns and cities in the province of Castellon (Spain) between 23 February and 27 May 2011. On April 5, the microbiology laboratory of a hospital in Castellon alerted the health authorities to the increase in S.Typhimurium isolated in fecal culture of children with gastroenteritis. The serotype and phage-type of 83 positive cases of S.Typhimurium isolated in these period included 49 monophasic/biphasic S.Typhimurium phage type 138, phage type 193, S.Derby, and 34 other S.Typhimurium phage-types. The median of age of patients was 4 years with a range of 0.6-80 years, and the 18% of patients were hospitalised. Two incident matched case-control studies were carried out; the first with S.Typhimurium phage type 138, 193, and S.Derby cases and the second with the other cases. The two studies found that the consumption of brand X dried pork sausage, purchased in a supermarket chain A, was associated with the disease (matched Odds Ratio [mOR]=13.74 95% Confidence Interval [CI] 4.84-39.06 and mOR=8.20 95% CI 2.32-28.89), respectively). S.Typhimurium phage type 193 and S.Derby were isolated in the food taken from the household of two patients and from the supermarket chain's A central warehouse. The pulsed-field gel electrophoresis study confirmed the similarity of the strains from the patients and the food. On May 25 2011, a national food alert led to the withdrawal of the food from the chain A and the outbreak ended.

Rotavirus vaccination effectiveness: a case-case study in the EDICS project, Castellón (Spain).

In Spain, in 2006, two oral live-attenuated vaccines against rotavirus disease were licensed for infants up to 6 months. Recent data suggest that vaccine efficacy may vary by region. This makes the real-life postmarketing monitoring of rotavirus vaccination effectiveness an important aspect of rotavirus epidemiologic surveillance. We carried out a case-case study to assess the rotavirus vaccination effectiveness in children from 2 to 35 months of age during the year 2009 in Castellón. As a second- and counterfactual objective to evaluate the possible selection bias and the specificity of the association, we evaluated the "effectiveness" of pneumococcal vaccination against rotavirus diarrhea. Cases were 71 children with confirmed rotavirus gastroenteritis, and controls were 261 children with positive results to any other organism that was not rotavirus. The immunization status of each child, the number of doses and dates of vaccination were assessed by consulting the Regional Immunization Registry. The lowest proportion of vaccinated cases was observed among rotavirus diarrhea (2.8%). The proportion of vaccinated children among the control group was 21.8%. The effectiveness of vaccination with at least one dose of vaccine against rotavirus was 87.7% (45.5-99.7%). If we restrict the analysis to non-hospitalized children, this figure was slightly lower, 83.5% (25.4-96.3%). As expected, pneumococcal vaccination was not protective against rotavirus infection showing the specificity of the association found. The immunization information systems in combination with population-based studies of the incidence of infectious gastroenteritis, such as EDICS offer appropriate conditions for postmarketing monitoring of vaccine effectiveness.