Draper, Anthony

James CL

Pascall, Joy

Shield KJ

Langrell, Jennifer

Hogg A

2017-12-01

An outbreak of Salmonella Muenchen gastroenteritis occurred in a remote coastal Aboriginal community in the Northern Territory (NT) of Australia. There were 22 people sick (attack rate 55%); 7 had laboratory confirmed S. Muenchen infection; 2 required medical evacuation and admission to the intensive care unit (ICU). We conducted a descriptive case series to investigate the outbreak. All cases ate meat from a single green turtle (Chelonia mydas). The animal's pre-death stress, improper butchering, insufficient cooking and the unsatisfactory storage of meat all likely contributed to the outbreak. Turtle meat should be prepared safely, cooked thoroughly and stored appropriately to avoid Salmonella infection.

Centre for Disease Control, Northern Territory Government Department of Health, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia.

OzFoodNet, Australian Government Department of Health, Canberra, Australia.

National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia.

Centre for Disease Control, Northern Territory Government Department of Health, Nhulunbuy(Gove), Northern Territory, Australia.

Angurugu Health Centre, Northern Territory Government Department of Health, Alyangula, Northern Territory, Australia.

Anindilyakwa Land Council, Alyangula, Northern Territory, Australia.

Commun Dis Intell Q Rep . 2017 Dec 1;41(4):E290-E294.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29864382/?otool=iaurydwlib

https://hdl.handle.net/10137/8426

41

Animals

*Disease Outbreaks

Female

*Food Microbiology

Foodborne Diseases/*epidemiology/history/*microbiology

History, 21st Century

Humans

Male

Northern Territory/epidemiology

Prevalence

*Salmonella

Salmonella Food Poisoning/*epidemiology/history/*microbiology

Turtles/*microbiology

An outbreak of Salmonella Muenchen after consuming sea turtle, Northern Territory, Australia, 2017.

Journal Article

Publication