Bacterial food-borne illness outbreaks in northern Taiwan, 1995-2001
Journal
Journal of Infection and Chemotherapy
Journal Volume
11
Journal Issue
3
Pages
146-151
Date Issued
2005
Author(s)
Abstract
How to reduce the occurrence of food-borne illness has always been one issue of great importance in Taiwan's disease prevention and control efforts, and it is important to determine, from survey results, whether the pathogens in Taiwan are the same or different from those in other countries. Accordingly, data on 1171 food-borne illness outbreaks were collected from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) of the Department of Health in Taiwan. The patients and the cases were numbered according to the guidelines and definition of food poisoning given by the Department of Health in Taiwan. All rectal swabs for culture were collected from the CDC. During 1995 to 2001, 1171 outbreaks of food-borne illness, including 109884 cases, were reported in northern Taiwan, of which 735 (62.8%) were caused by bacterial infection. Bacterial pathogens, particularly Vibrio parahaemolyticus (86.0%), Staphylococcus aureus (7.6%), and Salmonella spp. (4.9%) were the main etiologic agents. The responsible pathogens in Taiwan appeared to be quite different from those in Europe and the United States. It is important to establish a unique surveillance net of our own to prevent and control our situation of food-borne disease outbreaks effectively. ? Japanese Society of Chemotherapy and The Japanese Association for Infectious Diseases 2005.
Subjects
Food-borne illness outbreak; Salmonella; Staphylococcus aureus; Vibrio parahaemolyticus
SDGs
Other Subjects
article; bacterial infection; bacterium culture; controlled study; disease control; epidemic; Europe; food poisoning; human; Salmonella; Staphylococcus aureus; Taiwan; United States; Vibrio parahaemolyticus
Type
journal article