A big outbreak of typhoid on a ship within the Netherlands has been traced to contaminated water, this 12 months’s European Congress of Scientific Microbiology & Infectious Ailments (ECCMID 2023, Copenhagen, April 15-18) will hear.
Seventy-two instances of typhoid had been confirmed within the spring 2022 outbreak on the Liberty Ann, an previous cruise ship which was getting used as emergency lodging in Haarlem for asylum seekers.
An in depth investigation by the Municipal Well being Service Kennemerland and the Regional Public Well being Laboratory Kennemerland and others has traced the supply of the outbreak to the water tanks on the ship.
A type of main the investigation, Dr. Anne de Vries, of the Municipal Well being Service Kennemerland, Haarlem, the Netherlands, says, “The freshwater and wastewater tanks shared a typical wall which was severely corroded, with small holes. This allowed sewage containing Salmonella typhi (S. typhi), the bacterium which causes typhoid fever, to leak into the recent water which was then used as consuming water and to organize meals.”
Typhoid, which is unfold by meals and water contaminated with S. typhi, is extremely contagious. When handled promptly with antibiotics, the an infection is often gentle however with out therapy, it may be deadly. Signs embrace a excessive temperature, headache, abdomen ache and constipation or diarrhea.
On April 6, 2022, the municipal well being service in Kennemerland was notified about an ongoing outbreak of fever and belly complaints on the Liberty Ann.
Typhoid fever was rapidly identified and management measures had been put in place to stop additional unfold. Bottled water was offered, meals preparation on the ship halted and all of the asylum seekers had been moved to different lodging.
349 folks had probably been uncovered to the bacterium and 72 instances of typhoid had been confirmed by tradition amongst asylum seekers (50/72) and employees (20/72) between April 7 and Might 24.
All instances had been in adults. All the asylum seekers, and many of the employees members, had been male. All instances had been in individuals who had been on the ship.
Twenty-five people had been hospitalized and all recovered after therapy.
The Municipal Well being Service visited the ship six instances to hold out microbiological investigations and technical inspections. To determine the supply of the outbreak and mode of transmission, all asylum seekers and employees members had been requested to finish a questionnaire about their consumption of faucet water and meals on the ship. They had been additionally requested to offer fecal and blood samples.
Frequent consumption of meals and faucet water on the ship was related to growing typhoid.
Assessments on S. typhi cultured from the instances’ blood or feces confirmed all samples to be genetically similar—pointing to a typical supply of an infection.
S. typhi was detected within the wastewater tank and Salmonella within the freshwater tanks, which shared a severely corroded widespread wall.
The examine’s authors conclude, “A big outbreak of typhoid fever within the Netherlands was brought on by sewage water containing S. typhi leaking right into a freshwater tank.”
“Strict supervision of water high quality is essential to the well being and security of these on board ships. Water tanks and related gear should be correctly maintained and topic to common inspections.”
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Outbreak of typhoid on Dutch ship traced to contaminated consuming water (2023, April 1)
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