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

Authors

  • Anthony DK Draper Centre for Disease Control, Northern Territory Government Department of Health, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia; OzFoodNet, Australian Government Department of Health, Canberra, Australia; National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia.
  • Christian L James Centre for Disease Control, Northern Territory Government Department of Health, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia
  • Joy E Pascall Centre for Disease Control, Northern Territory Government Department of Health, Nhulunbuy(Gove), Northern Territory, Australia
  • Kathryn J Shield Centre for Disease Control, Northern Territory Government Department of Health, Nhulunbuy(Gove), Northern Territory, Australia
  • Jennifer Langrell Angurugu Health Centre, Northern Territory Government Department of Health, Alyangula, Northern Territory, Australia
  • Adrian Hogg Anindilyakwa Land Council, Alyangula, Northern Territory, Australia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.33321/cdi.2017.41.39

Keywords:

outbreak, Salmonella, Salmonella Muenchen, gastroenteritis, foodborne disease, turtle, Chelonia mydas

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 requires safe preparation which includes thorough cooking and appropriate storage to avoid Salmonella infection.

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References

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Published

01/12/17

How to Cite

Draper, Anthony DK, Christian L James, Joy E Pascall, Kathryn J Shield, Jennifer Langrell, and Adrian Hogg. 2017. “An Outbreak of Salmonella Muenchen After Consuming Sea Turtle, Northern Territory, Australia, 2017”. Communicable Diseases Intelligence 41 (December):290-94. https://doi.org/10.33321/cdi.2017.41.39.

Issue

Vol. 41 (2017)

Section

Original article

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