A Foodborne Outbreak of Staphylococcus aureus Associated with Fried Chicken in Republic of Korea

• Published in: Journal of microbiology and biotechnology Vol. 23; no. 1; pp. 85 - 87
• Main Authors: Hyeon, J.Y., Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Cheongwon, Republic of Korea, Chung, G.T., Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Cheongwon, Republic of Korea, Bing, S.H., Research Institute of Public Health and Environment, Daejon, Republic of Korea, Kwon, K.S., Research Institute of Public Health and Environment, Daejon, Republic of Korea, Lee, H.H., Seo-gu Daejon Health Center, Daejon, Republic of Korea, Kim, S.J., Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Cheongwon, Republic of Korea, Jeon, S.E., Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Cheongwon, Republic of Korea, Kang, Y.H., Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Cheongwon, Republic of Korea, Kim, J.Y., Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Cheongwon, Republic of Korea
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Seoul Korean Society for Applied Microbiology 01.01.2013; 한국미생물·생명공학회
• Subjects: Animals; Biological and medical sciences; Chickens - microbiology; Disease Outbreaks; Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field; Enterotoxins - genetics; Food industries; Food microbiology; Foodborne Diseases - epidemiology; Foodborne Diseases - microbiology; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General aspects; Genotype; Humans; Hygiene and safety; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; Multilocus Sequence Typing; outbreak,pulsed-field gel electrophoresis,multilocus sequence typing (MLST); Republic of Korea - epidemiology; STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREUS; Staphylococcus aureus - classification; Staphylococcus aureus - drug effects; Staphylococcus aureus - genetics; Staphylococcus aureus - isolation & purification; 생물학; Asia; Korea; Republic of Korea; multilocus sequence typing (MLST); Vertebrata; Pulsed field electrophoresis; Food poisoning; Bacteria; Micrococcales; outbreak; pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE); Micrococcaceae; Chicken; Food safety; Multilocus sequence typing; Aves; Staphylococcus aureus
• ISSN: 1017-7825; 1738-8872
• DOI: 10.4014/jmb.1210.10022

An outbreak of Staphylococcus aureus infections occurred in a university with an enrollment of 80 students in the city of Daejon, Republic of Korea. All nine S. aureus isolates from patients (n = 7), staff members (n = 1), and the fried chicken served as the lunch (n = 1) harbored the enterotoxin A gene and showed an identical antibioticresistant profile, PFGE banding pattern (STAS16.001), and sequence type, ST 6. These results suggested that the outbreak was associated with eating the fried chicken that had been handled by an infected staff member. This case report demonstrated a practical approach to identifying the source and transmission of an infection.