Identificación de agentes etiológicos aislados de muestras biológicas en brote por intoxicación alimentaria en el departamento de Atlántico. Colombia. 2008

Abstract

Introduction: foodborne diseases constitute a worldwide problem of public health and generate a negative socio-economic impact. Objective: to identify the causal agent of an outbreak of food poisoning in a school cafeteria. Methods: Study carried out in people affected by a food poisoning in the municipality of Santo Tomas, Atlántico, Colombia, in the first semester of 2008. Phenotypic identification of 24 families of Staphylococcus aureus isolated from vomiting, fecal material, gastric juices, secretion of injury in finger and nasopharyngeal and pharyngeal secretion in schoolchildren and food handlers was carried out. Of these families, 15 were analyzed by means of PCR-RAPD (Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA) technique. The products of PCR were visualized in agarose gels and analyzed by means of a dendogram. The similarity coefficient of Jaccard was calculated. Results: Coagulase-positive Staphylococcus aureus was identified in 16 samples of fecal material and Salmonella spp was recognized in two samples. In vomiting, 6 samples were positive for Coagulase-positive S. aureus and one sample for Salmonella spp. Also, Coagulase-positive S. aureus was isolated in a sample of secretion of nail and in nasopharyngeal secretion. Conclusion: Families of S. aureus with wide molecular diversity were identified. It constitutes the possible causal agent of an outbreak by food poisoing in a school cafeteria. Rev.cienc.biomed. 2013;4(2):233-241