A foodborne outbreak of Staphylococcus aureus associated with fried chicken in Republic of Korea

J Microbiol Biotechnol. 2013 Jan;23(1):85-7. doi: 10.4014/jmb.1210.10022.

Abstract

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.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Chickens / microbiology*
  • Disease Outbreaks*
  • Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field
  • Enterotoxins / genetics
  • Foodborne Diseases / epidemiology*
  • Foodborne Diseases / microbiology*
  • Genotype
  • Humans
  • Microbial Sensitivity Tests
  • Multilocus Sequence Typing
  • Republic of Korea / epidemiology
  • Staphylococcus aureus / classification
  • Staphylococcus aureus / drug effects
  • Staphylococcus aureus / genetics
  • Staphylococcus aureus / isolation & purification*

Substances

  • Enterotoxins
  • enterotoxin A, Staphylococcal