Epidemiological Investigation of Student Cluster Gastroenteritis Event Caused by Salmonella Enteritis

Huang Zhengliang; Liu Jintao; Hu Yingmin; Li Juanmei; Ye Jianying

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1001-568X.2024.10.0020

Abstract：OBJECTIVE An epidemiological investigation was conducted on a student gathering gastroenteritis incident in a school in Jingning She Autonomous County,Zhejiang Province,to provide reference for relevant departments to formulate prevention and control strategies.METHODS On March 18th,2023,teachers and student from a school in She Autonomous County of Jingning carried out epidemiological investigation,food hygiene investigation and laboratory testing.RESULTS Out of 1 150 teachers and stu-dents,a total of 178 cases occurred,with an incidence rate of 15.48%.The main symptoms are diarrhea,abdominal pain,fever,and nausea,with an average incubation period of 15.7 hours.A total of 88 samples were collected,and Salmonella enteritidis was detect-ed in 23 samples,with a detection rate of 26.14%.Salmonella enteritis was detected in sandwich bread.CONCLUSION It is deter-mined that the student group gastroenteritis incident that occurred in a certain school was a foodborne disease outbreak caused by contamination of sandwiches and bread with Salmonella enteritis during a spring outing on March 17th,2023.It is recommended that schools regularly conduct food safety knowledgetraining to improve the food safety knowledge level of relevant personnel.Relevant de-partments should strengthen regulatory measures for educational institutions and food manufacturers,provide further training for work-ers in the food industry,and encourage catering and food manufacturing enterprises to improve food safety management standards,such as ticket and certification systems.At the same time,traceability in food processing should be strengthened,and production and disinfection processes should be strictly standardized to prevent the outbreak of foodborne diseases.