The Southern Nevada Health District has released a report about a Salmonella outbreak that occurred at a potluck held at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Logandale, Nevada on October 19, 2013. At least 150 people were sickened in that outbreak. About 250 people attended the event. Eighty-five patients were seen by physicians.
The symptoms included non bloody diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and fever. No food from the event was available for testing. While persons who did not attend the potluck also got sick, they were in close contact with potluck attendees. Most people who attended the potluck lived in the Logandale/Mesquite/Moapa area, but some attendees were Utah residents.
According to the report, the patient age range was from 7 months to 88 years. Most were female. Twenty-seven stool samples were tested by labs. The causative agent of this outbreak was determined to be Salmonella infantis, diagnosed by the laboratories. Since no epidemiologic study was performed, and no leftover foods were available for testing, “it remains unknown which specific food item(s) were associated with the illness,” according to the report. The Department is concentrating on “emphasizing education toward prevention of future foodborne outbreaks rather than devoting significant resources to an analytic epidemiologic study.”
