The 2014 Salmonella outbreak at at Centennial High School Sports Banquet in Fulton County, Georgia sickened up to 150 people. An analysis of this outbreak was conducted by Caroline Stamatakis as part of a field investigation report by the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists.
Seventy-one of the 200 attendees were surveyed after the outbreak. Fifty-six probable cases and 13 controls were identified. Onset of symptoms were from December 8 to December 10, 2014. The most common symptoms were headache, diarrhea, abdominal cramps, body aches, and chills. The average illness length was about 5 days.
Those in the probable case group who ate the smoked chicken at the banquet all got sick. Only the smoked chicken was “significantly associated with illness.” Bacteriology results found 10 positive specimens for Salmonella Thompson. PFGE analysis found that nine of the 10 specimens had the same DNA pattern.
Investigations by public health officials found that the person preparing the chicken had “limited knowledge regarding the required temperatures and procedures necessary to properly store or cook chicken for such a large number of people,” according to the report. The contaminated smoked chicken was “the probable transmission vehicle” of the outbreak.
The analysis found that proper food preparation and serving processed are very important to prevent food borne illness. Private facilities without permits for food service and catering events are not usually held to the same standard as professional caterers, which can be a serious problem. All people who prepare and serve food for others should be educated about food safety preparation and proper food service.
If you ate smoked chicken at that banquet and got sick with the symptoms described, please see your doctor. The complications of a Salmonella infection can be lifelong, including reactive arthritis, high blood pressure, Salmonella colitis, and other health problems.
