Epidemiological Analysis by Phagovar in Food Poisoning Caused by Salmonella Enteritidis between 1989 and 2002 in Kobe City

Nineteen cases of food poisoning caused by Salmonella Enteritidis (SE) occurred in Kobe City between 1989 and 2002. The causative food was identified in nine cases, while it was not clarified in the remaining 10 cases. All causative agents was egg-containing foods. Most of the phagovar of SE causing the food poisoning were PT1, PT4, PT6 and PT 34, which was consistent with the transition of phagovar in Japan. However, PT14b detected in five cases in Kobe City since 2000 was a rare type, which had been isolated from only two cases in 11 years (1990-2000) in Japan. In our survey of unpasteurized eggs examined from 1993 to 1998, PT 1 and PT 4 were detected throughout the country, but PT 14b was not found at all. Since three cases of food poisoning due to SE had occurred in a short period (from October 1999 to June 2000) in Kobe City, we carried out genotype analysis employing the AFLP method for rapid epidemiological investigation. The genotypes of SE derived from the three cases were identical, but the phagovar were different. It was impossible to apply the AFLP method to epidemiological analysis as with the PFGE method, which could specialize an identical serotype of enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157. Therefore, further investigation of the AFLP method is required.