Food Poisoning Outbreak in a Border Patrol School in Mae Sot District, Tak Province, May 2014 - การระบาดของโรคอาหารเป็นพิษ ในโรงเรียนตำรวจตระเวนชายแดนแห่งหนึ่ง อำเภอแม่สอด จังหวัดตาก พฤษภาคม 2557

บทคัดย่อ

             This report presents results of food poisoning outbreak investigation in a border patrol school in Mae Sot District, Tak Province in May 2014. Medical records of the patients with food poisoning during the outbreak from Mae Sot Hospital were reviewed and active case findings in the school were carried out. A case-control study was conducted to identify source of the disease outbreak. An environmental investigation was done in the affected school and the house of a suspected food handler. Both clinical and environmental specimens were obtained for laboratory analysis. There were a total of 65 cases of food poisoning in the outbreak, of which 57 (87.7 %) received treatment in the hospital and 8 (12.3 %) were found by active case findings. None died in this outbreak. The most common clinical feature was vomiting (89.2 %), followed by nausea (81.5 %) and abdominal pain (66.2 %). Staphylococcus aureus carrying enterotoxin A gene was isolated from 47.4 % (9/19) of the patients. Most of the patients had onset of food poisoning during 4-7 pm of 23 May 2014. Children in the kindergarten class had the highest attack rate. A case-control study revealed that fried rice with pork served at noon of 23 May 2014 was significantly associated with the disease (odds ratio = 6.96). Multiple logistic regression analysis similarly
identified an association between consumption of fried rice with pork and the disease, after adjusting for other co-variables. Staphylococcus aureus carrying enterotoxin A gene was also isolated from a sample of fried rice with pork. This implicated food was kept for some hours before consumption. These findings indicate the importance of hygienic food preparation. People should take food immediately after preparation.

Key words: outbreak, food poisoning, school, Staphylococcus aureus