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. 2018 Apr 25;56(5):e01884-17.
doi: 10.1128/JCM.01884-17. Print 2018 May.

Foodborne Outbreak of Group G Streptococcal Pharyngitis in a School Dormitory in Osaka, Japan

Takahiro Yamaguchi #  1 , Ryuji Kawahara #  2 , Chihiro Katsukawa  2 , Masashi Kanki  2 , Tetsuya Harada  2 , Shinya Yonogi  2 , Satomi Iwasaki  3 , Hirokazu Uehara  4 , Saori Okajima  3 , Hiroshi Nishimura  2 , Kazushi Motomura  2 , Masaya Miyazono  5 , Yuko Kumeda  6 , Kentaro Kawatsu  2
Affiliations

Foodborne Outbreak of Group G Streptococcal Pharyngitis in a School Dormitory in Osaka, Japan

Takahiro Yamaguchi et al. J Clin Microbiol. .

Erratum in

Abstract

In September 2016, 140 patients with primary symptoms of sore throat and fever were identified in a school dormitory in Osaka, Japan. Epidemiological and laboratory investigations determined that these symptomatic conditions were from a foodborne outbreak of group G streptococcus (GGS), with GGS being isolated from samples from patients, cooks, and foods. The strain of GGS was identified as Streptococcus dysgalactiae subsp. equisimilis of two emm types (stG652.0 and stC36.0). The causative food, a broccoli salad, was contaminated with the two types of S. dysgalactiae subsp. equisimilis, totaling 1.3 × 104 CFU/g. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) of samples from patients, cooks, and foods produced similar band patterns among samples with the same emm type. This result suggested the possibility of exposure from the contaminated food. The average onset time was 44.9 h and the prevalence rate was 62%. This is the first report to identify the causative food of a foodborne outbreak by Streptococcus dysgalactiae subsp. equisimilis.

Keywords: foodborne outbreak; group G streptococcus.

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Figures

FIG 1
FIG 1
Number of patients between 9 and 15 September 2016.
FIG 2
FIG 2
Growth of Streptococcus dysgalactiae subsp. equisimilis (SDSE) in broccoli salad.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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