AN OUTBREAK OF SALMONELLA-MIKAWASIMA ASSOCIATED WITH DONER KEBABS

During October 1992 an increase in the number of isolates of Salmonell a mikawasima, a rare serotype, was noted including a cluster of nine c ases in the South West Thames region. A case control study was conduct ed and univariate analysis showed a statistical association between il lness and eating at takeaway A for cases compared with household contr ols (P = 0.003) and with neighbourhood controls (P = 0.0245). Cases we re also more likely to have eaten kebabs than were controls or average takeaway A customers, implicating doner kebabs as the most likely veh icle of infection. Plasmid profile analysis of the nine cases' isolate s showed them to be indistinguishable and to be characterized by a sin gle plasmid of approximately 60 MDa. The original source of the Salmon ella mikawasima contamination was not determined, but food preparation practices for kebabs at takeaway A were insufficient to protect again st illness if contaminated. This outbreak was only recognized because of the unusual serotype, but could be an indication of a more widespre ad problem with doner kebabs.