Study of an outbreak of diseases transmitted by food in a hotel. Varadero, 2009

Abstract

The diseases transmitted by food are a more and more important problem at the international level. According to the World Health Organization, between the 70 and the 80 % of the diarrheic cases are due to the ingestion of contaminated water and food, being a challenge nowadays, because its real incidence is unknown. Motivated for the necessity of increasing the surveillance of these diseases outbreaks and adequately studying them, we carried out the descriptive, observational, epidemiologic survey of an outbreak of diseases transmitted by foods that took place in a hotel in Varadero, in August 2009. The sample was formed by 59 tourists: 28 healthy and the same number of sick. They applied a survey validated to study these events; the information was taken from it. The media was calculated to determine the incubation period, making it correspond with the possible etiologic agent. We calculated the specific attack rate, indicating the suspecting food. We made laboratory studies of food samples, specimens and food manipulators. It was showed that not applying good practices of food elaboration, together with the worsening of the health situation of the installation, was the direct cause of the outbreak; the causal agent was the Salmonella D, isolated in the scrambled eggs and the specimens.