An outbreak of Salmonella Muenchen after consuming sea turtle, Northern Territory, Australia, 2017.

An outbreak of Salmonella Muenchen after consuming sea turtle, Northern Territory, Australia, 2017. Commun Dis Intell Q Rep. 2017 Dec 01;41(4):E290-E294 Authors: Draper ADK, James CL, Pascall JE, Shield KJ, Langrell J, Hogg A Abstract An outbreak of Salmonella Muenchen gastroenteritis occurred in a remote coastal Aboriginal community in the Northern Territory (NT) of Australia. There were 22 people sick (attack rate 55%); 7 had laboratory confirmed S. Muenchen infection; 2 required medical evacuation and admission to the intensive care unit (ICU). We conducted a descriptive case series to investigate the outbreak. All cases ate meat from a single green turtle (Chelonia mydas). The animal's pre-death stress, improper butchering, insufficient cooking and the unsatisfactory storage of meat all likely contributed to the outbreak. Turtle meat should be prepared safely, cooked thoroughly and stored appropriately to avoid Salmonella infection. PMID: 29864382 [PubMed - in process]
Source: Communicable Diseases Intelligence Quarterly Report - Category: Infectious Diseases Tags: Commun Dis Intell Q Rep Source Type: research