An outbreak of Cryptosporidium parvum across England & Scotland associated with consumption of fresh pre-cut salad leaves, May 2012

Caoimhe McKerr; Goutam K. Adak; Gordon Nichols; Russell Gorton; Rachel M. Chalmers; George Kafatos; Paul Cosford; Andre Charlett; Mark Reacher; Kevin G. Pollock; Claire L. Alexander; Stephen Morton

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0125955

An outbreak of Cryptosporidium parvum across England & Scotland associated with consumption of fresh pre-cut salad leaves, May 2012

Caoimhe McKerr, Goutam K. Adak, Gordon Nichols, Russell Gorton, Rachel M. Chalmers, George Kafatos, Paul Cosford, Andre Charlett, Mark Reacher, Kevin G. Pollock, Claire L. Alexander, Stephen Morton

Norwich Medical School

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

65 Citations (Scopus)

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Abstract

Background: We report a widespread foodborne outbreak of Cryptosporidium parvum in England and Scotland in May 2012. Cases were more common in female adults, and had no history of foreign travel. Over 300 excess cases were identified during the period of the outbreak. Speciation and microbiological typing revealed the outbreak strain to be C. parvum gp60 subtype IIaA15G2R1.

Methods: Hypothesis generation questionnaires were administered and an unmatched case control study was undertaken to test the hypotheses raised. Cases and controls were interviewed by telephone. Controls were selected using sequential digit dialling. Information was gathered on demographics, foods consumed and retailers where foods were purchased.

Results: Seventy-four laboratory confirmed cases and 74 controls were included in analyses. Infection was found to be strongly associated with the consumption of pre-cut mixed salad leaves sold by a single retailer. This is the largest documented outbreak of cryptosporidiosis attributed to a food vehicle.

Original language	English
Article number	e0125955
Journal	PLoS One
Volume	10
Issue number	5
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0125955
Publication status	Published - 27 May 2015

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An Outbreak of Cryptosporidium parvumFinal published version, 927 KBLicence: CC BY

Cite this

McKerr, C., Adak, G. K., Nichols, G., Gorton, R., Chalmers, R. M., Kafatos, G., Cosford, P., Charlett, A., Reacher, M., Pollock, K. G., Alexander, C. L., & Morton, S. (2015). An outbreak of Cryptosporidium parvum across England & Scotland associated with consumption of fresh pre-cut salad leaves, May 2012. PLoS One, 10(5), [e0125955]. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0125955

McKerr, Caoimhe ; Adak, Goutam K. ; Nichols, Gordon ; Gorton, Russell ; Chalmers, Rachel M. ; Kafatos, George ; Cosford, Paul ; Charlett, Andre ; Reacher, Mark ; Pollock, Kevin G. ; Alexander, Claire L. ; Morton, Stephen. / An outbreak of Cryptosporidium parvum across England & Scotland associated with consumption of fresh pre-cut salad leaves, May 2012. In: PLoS One. 2015 ; Vol. 10, No. 5.

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abstract = "Background: We report a widespread foodborne outbreak of Cryptosporidium parvum in England and Scotland in May 2012. Cases were more common in female adults, and had no history of foreign travel. Over 300 excess cases were identified during the period of the outbreak. Speciation and microbiological typing revealed the outbreak strain to be C. parvum gp60 subtype IIaA15G2R1. Methods: Hypothesis generation questionnaires were administered and an unmatched case control study was undertaken to test the hypotheses raised. Cases and controls were interviewed by telephone. Controls were selected using sequential digit dialling. Information was gathered on demographics, foods consumed and retailers where foods were purchased. Results: Seventy-four laboratory confirmed cases and 74 controls were included in analyses. Infection was found to be strongly associated with the consumption of pre-cut mixed salad leaves sold by a single retailer. This is the largest documented outbreak of cryptosporidiosis attributed to a food vehicle. ",

author = "Caoimhe McKerr and Adak, {Goutam K.} and Gordon Nichols and Russell Gorton and Chalmers, {Rachel M.} and George Kafatos and Paul Cosford and Andre Charlett and Mark Reacher and Pollock, {Kevin G.} and Alexander, {Claire L.} and Stephen Morton",

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An outbreak of Cryptosporidium parvum across England & Scotland associated with consumption of fresh pre-cut salad leaves, May 2012. / McKerr, Caoimhe; Adak, Goutam K.; Nichols, Gordon; Gorton, Russell; Chalmers, Rachel M.; Kafatos, George; Cosford, Paul; Charlett, Andre; Reacher, Mark; Pollock, Kevin G.; Alexander, Claire L.; Morton, Stephen.

In: PLoS One, Vol. 10, No. 5, e0125955, 27.05.2015.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

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AU - McKerr, Caoimhe

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AU - Gorton, Russell

AU - Chalmers, Rachel M.

AU - Kafatos, George

AU - Cosford, Paul

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AU - Alexander, Claire L.

AU - Morton, Stephen

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