An international foodborne outbreak of shigellosis associated with a commercial airline

An international outbreak of shigellosis that occurred during 1988 may have been caused by contamination of cold food served by a Minnesota-based airline. Shigellosis is a form of dysentery, or diarrhea, caused by different species of the bacterium Shigella. A study examined the incidence of shigellosis among 65 members and staff of a football team and among 240 other passengers who flew on a Minnesota-based airline between Sept and Oct 1988. Among the 65 football players and staff, 21 (32%) developed shigellosis after eating cold sandwiches prepared on a flight taken during Oct 1988. Thirty other passengers (4%), four flight attendants and two crew members also developed shigellosis after eating cold food prepared in the airplane kitchen. Shigella sonnei was grown from stool specimens taken from nine team members, 11 other passengers and three flight attendants.