Wednesday, May 11, 2016: 11:00 AM
Kokkali Room (Megaron Athens International Conference Center)
Yacine Nia, Université Paris-Est, ANSES, Laboratory for Food Safety, F-94700 Maisons-Alfort, France
Alexandra Cauquil, Université Paris-Est, ANSES, Laboratory for Food Safety, F-94700 Maisons-Alfort, France
Sarah Denayer, Scientific Institute of Public Health WIV-ISP, Brussels, Belgium
Christos Kourtis, State General Laboratory, Food Microbiology Laboratory, Nicosia, Cyprus
Hristo Daskalov, National Center of Food Safety, NDRVMI, Sofia, Bulgaria
Lucia Decastelli, Italian NRL for CPS - Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Piemonte, Liguria e Valle dÂ’Aosta, Turin, Italy
Bernadette Hickey, Dairy Science Laboratory,, Co. Kildare, Ireland
Frédéric Auvray, Université Paris-Est, ANSES, Laboratory for Food Safety, F-94700 Maisons-Alfort, France
Jacques-Antoine Hennekinne, Université Paris-Est, ANSES, Laboratory for Food Safety, F-94700 Maisons-Alfort, France
Introduction: Staphylococcal food poisoning outbreaks (SFPOs) are a major cause of foodborne illnesses in Europe. Their notifications have been mandatory since 2005 (Commission Regulation (EC) No. 2073/2005 amended by EC No.1441/2007). Staphylococcal enterotoxins (SEs) represent the first cause of food poisoning outbreaks due to bacterial toxins. In 2014, 12 Member States (MSs) reported 393 food-borne outbreaks caused by staphylococcal toxins. This represents 7.5% of all outbreaks, a small increase compared with 2013 when 12 MSs reported 386 outbreaks.
Purpose: Several outbreaks occurred in MSs over the period 2013-2015 which were characterized in the frame of the European Union Reference Laboratory network. This presentation will focus on a subset of these, including outbreaks that occurred within a transatlantic flight, a nursing home, a prison, a wedding reception, a barbecue and a sandwich take-away restaurant. SEs detected in foodstuffs responsible for these outbreaks will be described.
Methods: SEs were analysed following the European Screening Method and quantified by an in-house ELISA test. SE encoding genes were detected in S. aureus strains isolated from food samples by an in-house PCR-based method.
Results: Coagulase positive staphylococci and their enterotoxins were incriminated in each of the outbreaks. For the 5 SEs detected in routine, agreement was established between SE genes identified in S. aureus isolates and SEs quantified in the samples. However, some outbreaks were only partially characterized due to the absence of diagnostic tools allowing the detection of other types of enterotoxins such as SEG, SEH and SEI.
Significance: Investigation of SFPOs highlight the need for correct food handling practice and food storage conditions. Methodology is available for CPS characterization and SE analysis in case of food poisoning events. However, new analytical tools, in particular for SEG, SEH and SEI detection, are needed to enlarge the scope of the methods already available.
