Outbreak of shigellosis in Irish holidaymakers associated with travel to Egypt

Abstract

An outbreak of gastrointestinal illness associated with travel to Egypt is being investigated in Ireland. An aeroplane arrived in Dublin on 1 June 2005, carrying holidaymakers returning from Luxor in Egypt

Global health

“…Bacterial contamination of food and drinks is quite frequent in Egypt. In recent years, there have been numerous reports of European tourists returning with bacterial dysentery caused by Shigella sonnei, a severe form of diarrhoea that usually requires antibiotic treatment (McKeown et al 2005). Other forms of Shigella are also common, including Shigella flexneri and Shigella dysenteriae (Abu-Elyazeed et al 2004).…”

Shigellosis outbreak linked to canteen-food consumption in a public institution: a matched case-control study

“…5 million are in developed countries [2]. In Western Europe, most cases are imported [3][4][5][6][7][8], but person-to-person transmission often occurs in children [9][10][11] ; outbreaks in men who have sex with men (MSM) have also been described [12]. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) reported nine foodborne outbreaks of shigellosis, affecting a total of 325 people in 2007.…”