Bacteriological and Serological Studies of Organisms of the Arizona Group Associated with a Food‐Borne Outbreak of Gastroenteritis^a

Abstract

SUMMARY The biochemical and antigenic characteristics of a strain of the Arizona group (1, 2:1, 2, 5) that appears to have been responsible for the illness of 51 nurses in a food‐borne outbreak of severe gastroenteritis in an Institution in Washington are described. A custard prepared from fresh, unbroken eggs, was probably the vehicle of the infecting organism. The agglutination reactions of the blood serum of exposed individuals with antigens of several Entero‐bacteriaceae, including the Arizona strain isolated during the outbreak, are recounted.