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An Hasidic Jewish community has experienced recurrent hepatitis A outbreaks since 1980. To assess risk factors for illness during a 1985-6 outbreak, the authors reviewed case records and randomly selected 93 households for an interview and serologic survey. In the outbreak, 117 cases of hepatitis A were identified, with the highest attack rate (4.2%) among 3-5 year olds. Among the survey households, the presence of 3-5 year olds was the only risk factor that increased a household's risk of hepatitis A (indeterminant relative risk, P = 0.02). Furthermore, case households from the outbreak were more likely to have 3-5 years olds than were control households from the survey (odds ratio = 16.4, P < 0.001). Children 3-5 years old were more likely to have hepatitis A and may have been the most frequent transmitters of hepatitis A in this community. Hepatitis A vaccination of 3-5 year olds can protect this age group and might prevent future outbreaks in the community.

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Since 1985, egg-associated Salmonella enteritidis has emerged as a major cause of foodborne disease. New York State has been especially affected, with 47 documented egg-associated S enteritidis outbreaks involving 2279 cases and 10 deaths. Individual case reports of salmonella have also increased 56%, and sporadic cases of S enteritidis have been shown to be associated with egg consumption. Further educational and regulatory activities are needed to control this continuing public health problem.

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OBJECTIVE: Enteroviral outbreaks involving athletic teams have been described, although the mode of transmission has been unclear. In September 1991, an outbreak of pleurodynia among high school football players provided an opportunity to identify possible modes of transmission. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort outbreak investigation. SETTING: Public high school in upstate New York. RESULTS: Illness was reported by 17 (20%) of the football players. Behaviors involving contact with common water containers were associated with illness, including eating ice cubes from the team ice chest (relative risk [RR], 9.2; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.3 to 65.5) and drinking water from the team cooler (RR, 6.3; 95% CI, 1.5 to 25.7). Coxsackievirus B1 was isolated in four (50%) of the eight stool specimens collected. CONCLUSIONS: Contamination of common water containers by an infected player may have contributed to or initiated the outbreak. In addition to discouraging direct oral contact with common drinking containers, use of individual water containers and ice packs for injuries was recommended.

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The largest outbreak of typhoid fever in the United States since 1981 occurred in 1989 among guests and staff at a New York hotel. There were 43 culture-confirmed and 24 probable cases among guests, 1 culture-confirmed case and 1 asymptomatic culture-positive case among hotel employees, and 1 culture-confirmed secondary case. Twenty-one persons were hospitalized and 2 had bowel perforation. Breakfast on 13 June was the only meal consumed by all ill persons (relative risk, infinite; P = .004). In a case-control study, case-patients were more likely than controls to have consumed orange juice (odds ratio, 5.6; 95% confidence interval, 1.1-54.7), which had been prepared in a 208-L container with ample opportunity for hand contact. No other food was associated with illness. S. typhi was isolated from the stool of an asymptomatic food worker who handled orange juice but who was not known to be a typhoid carrier. S. typhi is a foodborne pathogen with continuing potential to cause large outbreaks in the United States.

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In the spring of 1988, the largest documented US outbreak of cutaneous sporotrichosis to date occurred, with 84 cases among persons from 15 states who were exposed to Wisconsin-grown sphagnum moss used in packing evergreen tree seedlings. In New York State, 13 cases occurred among 109 forestry workers. All 13 cases occurred among 76 workers who had handled evergreen seedlings and moss (attack rate = 17%). For those exposed to evergreens and moss, the risk of infection increased as worktime exposure to moss increased (attack rates: less than 10 hours, 8%; 10-19 hours, 12%; greater than 19 hours, 33%). While environmental samples of moss from the Wisconsin supplier were negative, Sporothrix schenckii was cultured from multiple samples of the sphagnum moss obtained from one of six Pennsylvania tree nurseries, representing the nursery that was identified as the source for 79 (94%) of the moss-associated cases. Differences in tree-handling procedures at this nursery--including the use of 1- to 3-year-old moss to pack seedlings, use of a pond water source to wet the moss, use of an organic polymer gel on the seedling root system, and underground storage and longer storage of moss-packed seedlings before shipping--suggested possible explanations for the association. Efforts to prevent sporotrichosis among persons handling evergreen seedlings should include the use of alternate types of packing material (e.g., cedar wood chips or shredded paper) and protective clothing such as gloves and long-sleeved shirts.

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During 1987, four New York State summer camps for the mentally retarded and developmentally disabled experienced outbreaks of Shigella sonnei gastroenteritis. Cases occurred in 150 of 286 (attack rate (AR) = 52%), 167 of 295 (AR = 57%), and 25 of 114 (AR = 22%) persons in three camps, respectively; a fourth camp reported eight cases. Epidemiologic investigation suggested point-source foodborne outbreaks in two camps, while person-to-person spread appeared to predominate in the other two. Numerous secondary cases were identified among contacts outside the facilities in the second and third camps. To quantify the extent of the problem, the authors reviewed data on 77 infectious disease outbreaks (12 in camps for the handicapped and 65 in camps for the nonhandicapped) that occurred in the 12,484 registered camp sessions (316 for the handicapped and 12,168 for the nonhandicapped) held during the six-year period 1982-1987. Camps for the handicapped demonstrated approximately a seven times greater risk for all types of infectious disease outbreaks (AR = 38 outbreaks/1,000 camp sessions vs. five outbreaks/1,000 camp sessions; relative risk (RR) = 7.1, 95% confidence interval (CI) 3.9-13.0), including those of gastrointestinal etiology (RR = 8.6, 95% CI 4.4-16.8) and those due to Shigella (RR = infinity). Large camp size (RR = 2.3, 95% CI 1.3-4.1) and long duration of camp sessions (RR = 3.9, 95% CI 1.3-11.6) also increased the risk for outbreaks; however, this risk was predominantly in the camps for the nonhandicapped--other factors relating to personal hygiene and close camper-staff contact were probably more important in the camps for the handicapped. These outbreaks demonstrate the impact of shigellosis at summer camps for the mentally retarded and the need for early preventive action.

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