First Report of Food Poisoning Due to Staphylococcal Enterotoxin Type B in Döner Kebab (Italy)
Angelo Romano,
Simona Carrella,
Sara Rezza,
Yacine Nia,
Jacques Antoine Hennekinne,
Daniela Manila Bianchi,
Francesca Martucci,
Fabio Zuccon,
Margherita Gulino,
Carmela Di Mari,
Teresa Zaccaria,
Lucia Decastelli
Affiliations
Angelo Romano
National Reference Laboratory for Coagulase Positive Staphylococci including S. aureus, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Piemonte Liguria e Valle d’Aosta, 10148 Turin, Italy
Simona Carrella
National Reference Laboratory for Coagulase Positive Staphylococci including S. aureus, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Piemonte Liguria e Valle d’Aosta, 10148 Turin, Italy
Sara Rezza
National Reference Laboratory for Coagulase Positive Staphylococci including S. aureus, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Piemonte Liguria e Valle d’Aosta, 10148 Turin, Italy
Yacine Nia
Laboratory for Food Safety, French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety (ANSES), Université Paris-Est, 94700 Maisons-Alfort, France
Jacques Antoine Hennekinne
Laboratory for Food Safety, French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety (ANSES), Université Paris-Est, 94700 Maisons-Alfort, France
Daniela Manila Bianchi
National Reference Laboratory for Coagulase Positive Staphylococci including S. aureus, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Piemonte Liguria e Valle d’Aosta, 10148 Turin, Italy
Francesca Martucci
National Reference Laboratory for Coagulase Positive Staphylococci including S. aureus, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Piemonte Liguria e Valle d’Aosta, 10148 Turin, Italy
Fabio Zuccon
National Reference Laboratory for Coagulase Positive Staphylococci including S. aureus, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Piemonte Liguria e Valle d’Aosta, 10148 Turin, Italy
Margherita Gulino
Azienda Sanitaria Locale TO5 di Chieri, Carmagnola, Moncalieri e Nichelino—Dipartimento di Prevenzione SC Igiene degli Alimenti e della Nutrizione, 10042 Nichelino, Italy
Carmela Di Mari
Azienda Sanitaria Locale TO5 di Chieri, Carmagnola, Moncalieri e Nichelino—Dipartimento di Prevenzione SC Igiene degli Alimenti e della Nutrizione, 10042 Nichelino, Italy
Teresa Zaccaria
SC Microbiologia e Virologia Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria, Città Della Salute e Della Scienza di Torino, 10126 Turin, Italy
Lucia Decastelli
National Reference Laboratory for Coagulase Positive Staphylococci including S. aureus, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Piemonte Liguria e Valle d’Aosta, 10148 Turin, Italy
Staphylococcal food poisoning results from the consumption of food contaminated by staphylococcal enterotoxins. In July 2022, the Turin local health board was notified of a suspected foodborne outbreak involving six children who had consumed döner kebab purchased from a takeaway restaurant. The symptoms (vomiting and nausea) were observed 2–3 h later. A microbiological analysis of the food samples revealed high levels (1.5 × 107 CFU/g) of coagulase-positive staphylococci (CPS). The immunoassay detected a contamination with staphylococcal enterotoxins type B (SEB). The whole genome sequencing of isolates from the food matrix confirmed the staphylococcal enterotoxin genes encoding for type B, which was in line with the SEB detected in the food. This toxin is rarely reported in staphylococcal food poisoning, however, because there is no specific commercial method of detection. The involvement of enterotoxin type P (SEP) was not confirmed, though the corresponding gene (sep) was detected in the isolates. Nasal swabs from the restaurant food handlers tested positive for CPS, linking them to the likely source of the food contamination.
