• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• 제5권1호
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• pp.111-114
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• 1972

There was an outbreak of food poisoning on the 17 October, 1970 among the primary school children who came from a rural area, Yeongi-gun, Choongcheongnam-do to Seoul City on an educational trip. Of the 199 children participating in the trip, 149 cases of food poisoning developed a 74.9% attack rate. The acute onset of symptoms, of abdominal pain, diarrhea, vomiting and headache which occurred 1-5 hours after eating their lunch suggests that the outbreak was due to staphylococcal food poisoning. The common source of food was identified as the lunch packed in a chip-box which were eaten on October 17 during the trip. Most probable kind of food of the lunch as the cause was the favoured fish paste. The lunch were prepared at restaurant A in Seoul City. One of the personnel of the restaurant had a unhealed cut wound on the third finger tip of the left hand, from which it was considered that the food was contaminated with Staphylococcus during preparation. The chance of multiplication of Staphylococcus to produce enterotoxin in the food might be existed during flavouring the food with some degree of heat, and also during about 10 hours elapsed before serving the food after preparation.

• 한국식품위생안전성학회지
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• 제26권3호
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• pp.248-253
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• 2011

우리나라는 2인 이상의 집단 식중독에 대해서 식중독 발생건수와 환자수에 대해서 통계집계를 실시하고 있지만 산발적으로 발생하는 1인 식중독에 대해서는 집계 되고 있지 않다. 실제 발생하는 식중독을 식중독 통계에 근접하게 집계하는 방안의 하나로써 l인 식중독의 비중 및 패턴을 파악하고자 한국과 식이 패턴이 유사한 일본의 통계 (2002-2003)를 이용하여 1인 식중독과 2인 이상 집단식중독을 비교분석 하였다. 아울러 한국의 인구수 대비 식중독 발생 및 보고 비율을 일본과 비교하였다. 일본의 1인 식중독이 전체 식중독에서 차지하는 비율은 발생 건수에서 43.5%이며 발생장소는 장소불명 (90-92.3%)과 가정집 (6.2-8.5%)이 대부분이었다. 일본의 l인 식중독에서 C. jejuni (51.9%), Salmonella spp. (35.3%), V parahaemolyticus (9.5%)가 원인균의 대부분을 차지하였다. 한편 2인 이상 집단 식중독의 원인균은 norovirus (3l.3%), Salmonella spp. (20.8%), C. jejuni (15.5%)로 나타났다. 특히, 집단 식중독이 자주 발생한 장소는 음식점 (46.6-50.1%)과 여관(9.2-9.8%)이었고 1인 식중독보다 주로 집단 식중독에서만 발생한 식중독 원인균은 norovirus, S. aureus, Cl. perfringens, unknown였다. 한국과 일본의 식중독 발생 및 보고 비율은 2002-2009년 통계를 비교한 결과 2인 이상의 집단 식중독을 기준으로 1:1.5 수준이었다.

• 한국식품위생안전성학회지
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• 제39권2호
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• pp.102-108
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• 2024

본 연구는 2020년 10월 중 충청남도내 단체 급식소에서 발생한 대규모 집단 식중독 원인에 대하여 분석하였다. 전체 급식원 135명 중 21명(15.6%)에서 음식을 섭취한 후 1시간 이내에 주로 매스꺼움과 구토 증상을 보였다. 유증상자 21명 중 11명과, 조리종사자 1명, 조리기구 2건과 보존식 8건에서 B. cereus가 검출됨에 따라 B. cereus에 의한 집단 식중독으로 판단하였다. 분리된 21개의 균주를 PFGE 분석한 결과, 19개의 균주가 동일한 것으로 판단되었고, 이들 균주가 가지고 있는 독소 유전자는 CER, nheA, entFM이었다. 실험결과, CER을 포함하고, 증상 발현 시간이 1시간 이내로 매우 짧아 B. cereus의 구토형 식중독으로 판단하였다. 집단식중독 원인으로 안전하지 않은 급식환경과 제대로 관리되지 않은 음식에 의한 것이라 조사되었다. 이러한 결과는 단체급식에서의 급식환경과 제공되는 음식이 철저하게 관리되어야 한다는 것을 보여준다. 이와 더불어 보존식에서 원인 병원체를 찾아내는 것은 식중독의 원인을 추정하는데 매우 중요하므로, 집단급식소에서 규정에 맞는 보존식 용기를 이용하여 이를 적정온도에 잘 보관해야한다. 또한 정밀한 식중독 역학조사를 기반으로 사례를 분석하고 결과를 전파함으로써 유사한 식중독이 재발하지 않도록 해야 한다.

• 한국환경보건학회지
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• 제46권3호
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• pp.353-358
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• 2020

Objectives: An outbreak of pathogenic Escherichia coli food poisoning in Korea was first reported in 1998. They have continued to occure since then. This study was performed to describe the long-term trend in pathogenic E. coli food poisoning occurrences in Korea and examine the relation with climate factors. Methods: Official Korean statistics on food poisoning outbreaks and meteorological data for the period 2002-2017 were used. Pearson's correlation analysis was employed to establish the relationship between outbreaks of pathogenic E. coli food poisoning and meteorological factors. The influence of meteorological factors upon the outbreaks was analyzed by regression analysis. Results: During the study period, pathogenic E. coli food poisoning ranked second for the number of outbreaks (excluding unknowns) and first for the number of cases. Average temperature, the highest and lowest temperatures, precipitation, number of days with rainfall, and humidity all had a significant correlation with monthly number of outbreaks of pathogenic E. coli food poisoning (p<0.001). It was found that the lowest and highest temperatures and precipitation had a significant influence on the monthly number of outbreaks of food poisoning (p<0.001). These variables together explained 42.1% of the total variance, with the lowest temperature having the greatest explanatory power. Conclusion: These results show that food poisoning incidences may have been influenced by climate change, especially warming. The results also suggest that pathogenic E. coli infections are now an important public health issue in Korea since it is one of the countries where climate change is occurring rapidly.

• Journal of Medicine and Life Science
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• 제18권2호
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• pp.25-30
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• 2021

Many people reported suspected food poisoning after consuming food at the same snack bar on June 18, 2020. Thus, an in-depth epidemiological investigation was conducted to identify the infectious agent and establish additional food poisoning prevention measures. The study included people who reported to the local public health center after June 18 with acute gastroenteritis symptoms within 4 days of consuming food from the snack bar. The onset of symptoms and food items consumed by individuals were then investigated via phone calls and on-site visits. Afterward, the infectious agent was identified from human samples (stool or rectal swab) of four restaurant employees and 89 people and from environmental samples (materials, cooking utensils, and water). The analysis revealed that the incubation period ranged from 2 hours to 92 hours, with a median and mode of 16 hours and 12 hours, respectively. Moreover, the epidemic curve had a unimodal shape because of common exposure, which reached its peak on June 18. After monitoring for 8 days, which is more than twice the maximum incubation period of 92 hours, the end of the epidemic was declared on June 28 as no additional cases were reported. Analysis of human and environmental samples revealed Salmonella bareilly of the pulsed-field gel electrophoresis pulsotype SAPX01.017 as the causative agent. Therefore, it was concluded that the food poisoning outbreak was caused by S. bareilly.

• 대한임상독성학회지
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• 제17권1호
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• pp.1-6
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• 2019

Scombroid fish poisoning (SFP) is a form of histamine food poisoning caused by the ingestion of improperly stored fish. The term "scombroid" derives from the family name of the fish family first implicated, such as tuna and mackerel. On the other hand, non-scombroid fish species, such as sardine and herring, can also cause histamine poisoning. The histamine is converted from histidine by a bacterial enzyme in the causative fish. Because the symptoms of SFP can easily be confused with food allergies, it is believed to have been significantly under-reported. In 2016, an outbreak of SFP occurred among primary school students who had eaten yellowtail steak in Korea. The most common findings consisted of a rapid onset of flushing of the face and trunk, erythematous and urticarial rash, diarrhea, and headache occurring soon after consuming the spoiled fish. Usually, the course is self-limiting and antihistamines can be used successfully to relieve symptoms, but several life-threatening SFP cases have been reported. Clinical toxicologists should be familiar with SFP and have competency to make a differential diagnosis between fish allergy and histamine poisoning. SFP is a histamine-induced reaction caused by the ingestion of histamine-contaminated fish, whereas a fish allergy is an IgE-mediated reaction. This review discusses the epidemiology, pathophysiology, diagnosis, treatment, and preventive measures of SFP.

• 한국식품위생안전성학회지
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• 제12권3호
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• pp.240-253
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• 1997

The main problems contributing to food poisoning outbreaks in institutional settings and a home were reviewed and analyzed through the epidemiological investigations of food poisoning. The major documented factors included improper holding temperatures, inadequate cooking, poor personal hygiene, cross-contamination and contaminated equipment, food from unsafe sources, failure to follow food hygiene policies, and lack of education, training, monitoring and superivision. Usually more than one factor contributed to the development of an outbreak. (1) Use of improper holding temperatures was the single most important factor contributing to food poisoning. They included improper cooling, allowing a laps of time (12 hours or more) between preparing food and eating it, improper hot holding, and inadequate or improper thawing. Food thermometers were not used in most of the instances. (2) In inadequate cooking, the core temperature of food during and after cooking had not been measured, and routine monitoring was limited to recording the temperature of plated meals. Compared with conventional methods of cooking, microwave ovens did not protect against food poisoning as effectively. Centralized food preparation potentially increased the risk of food poisoning outbreaks. (3) Poor personal hygiene both at the individual level (improper handwashing and lack of proper hygienic practices) and at the institutional level (poor general sanitization) increased the risk of transmission. Person to person transmission of enteric pathogens through direct contact and via fomites has been noted in several instances. (4) Obtaining food from unsafe sources was a risk factor in outbreaks of food poisoning. Food risks were high when food was grown or harvested from contaminated areas. Possibilities included contamination in the field, in transport, at the retail site, or at the time it was prepared for serving. (5) Cross-contamination and inadequate cleaning/handling of equipment became potential vehicles of food poisoning. Failure to separate cooked food from raw food was also a risk factor. (6) Failure to follow food hygiene policies also provided opportunities for outbreaks of food poisoning. It included improper hygienic practices during food preparation, neglect of personnel policies (involvement of symptomatic workers in food preparation), poor results on routine inspections, and disregarding the results and recommendations of an inspection. (7) Lack of formal and in-service education, training, monitoring, and supervision of food handlers or supervisors were critical and perhaps neglected elements in occurrences of food poisoning.

• 한국환경보건학회지
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• 제45권5호
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• pp.434-442
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• 2019

Objectives: This study was performed in order to report the epidemiological features of a food poisoning outbreak caused by multiple pathogens in a high school in Chungcheongnam-do Province, Korea in April 2019 and to suggest measures to prevent a similar incidence. Methods: A total of 39 patients with diarrhea were examined. Environmental samples were obtained from 6 food handlers, 4 food utensils, 72 preserved foods served during the food poisoning outbreak, 9 door handles, 10 drinking water samples from water dispensers, and 6 ground water samples from water taps. These analyzed to detect viruses and bacteria. Results: Among the 39 patients, 21 cases (53.8%) of enteroaggregative E. coli (EAEC), 7 cases of Staphylococcus aureus (17.9%), and 17 cases of norovirus (43.6%) were positive, and in 16 of the cases a co-infection with at least one other pathogen were observed. EAEC was assumed to be transmitted from contaminated drinking water because it was also detected in the water sample from a water dispenser in the dormitory. Staphylococcus aureus was isolated only in the fecal samples of patients, meaning it was not possible to trace its origin. The genotype of norovirus detected in the drinking water and ground water was consistent with that isolated from patients, and it was determined that the norovirus infection originated from the school's water environment. Conclusions: These findings indicate that a lack of environmental hygiene management related to school meals caused the food poisoning incident. In particular, a lack of management of drinking water, water supply, and personal hygiene should be pointed out. This should be urgently addressed and continuous monitoring should be carried out in the future. In addition, students and staff should be educated and trained to improve their personal hygiene.

• 한국환경보건학회지
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• 제46권5호
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• pp.525-531
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• 2020

Objectives: This study was performed to identify the epidemiological features of a food poisoning outbreak in a company cafeteria located in Chungcheongnam-do Province, Korea in June of 2020 and to suggest preventive measures for a similar incidence. Methods: A total of 84 patients with acute gastroenteritis were examined. Environmental samples were obtained from 16 food handlers, six food utensils, 135 preserved foods served over three days and nine menus, and six drinking water samples. These are analyzed to detect viruses and bacteria. Results: Ninety-four out of the 402 people who were served meals (23.4%) predominantly showed symptoms of diarrhea, and the number was over 3 times. Among the 84 patients under investigation, 17 cases (20.2%) were positive for Enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC) and 18 cases were positive for Clostridium (C.) perfringens (21.4%). Based on the investigation, it was concluded that the main pathogens were EPEC and C. perfringens. For EPEC, it was detected in three of the food service employees and in the preserved food and curry rice. The results of pulsed field gel electrophoresis indicate that all EPEC cases are closely related except for one food service employee. Assuming that isolated EPEC originated from the preserved food, the incubation period is about 25 hours. The origin of the C. perfringens was not determined as it was not detected in the food service employees or environmental samples. Conclusions: This case suggests that food provided in group food service centers must be thoroughly managed. In addition, identifying the pathogens in preserved food is very important for tracing the causes of food poisoning, so food must be preserved in an appropriate condition. To prevent similar food poisoning cases, analyzing cases based on epidemiological investigation and sharing the results is needed.

• 농촌의학ㆍ지역보건
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• 제40권2호
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• pp.53-61
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• 2015

2014년 울산광역시 일개 고등학교에서 장독소생성대장균의 유행이 발생하였고, 이에 대한 원인과 전파 양식 등을 규명하고 예방 및 관리대책을 마련하기 위해 역학조사를 시행하였다. 학교 야구부원 26명과 조리담당 학부모 2명을 대상으로 설문조사를 실시하였으며, 6월 13~14일 발생한 의심환자 7명과 조리담당 학부모 2명을 대상으로 보건환경연구원에서 세균 10종 및 바이러스 5종에 관한 검사를 시행하였다. 일별로 가장 많이 발생한 6월 14일을 기준으로 3일 전인 11일부터 13일까지의 식단을 이용하여 후향적 코호트 연구를 시행하였다. 학교 운동부 학생 26명 및 조리담당 학부모 2명 등 총 28명 중 환례는 10명으로 장독소생성대장균의 발병률은 35.7%이었다. 위험요인 분석에서 통계적으로 유의한 음식은 없었다. 이번 유행의 원인으로 생활관 식당 내 제빙기의 얼음퍼개 및 얼음이 6월 9일 초발자에 의하여 사용 과정에서 오염된 것으로 추정하였다. 오염된 얼음퍼개가 제빙기 내부에 보관되어, 얼음과 주변 녹은 물이 오염되고 그로 인해 원인병원체의 전파가 이루어졌다고 추정하였다.