Strategies to Reduce Person-to-Person Transmission during Widespread Escherichia coli O157:H7 Outbreak

摘要

During the Escherichia coliO157:H7 outbreak in 2006 in the United States, the primary strategy to prevent illness was to advise consumers not to eat spinach. No widespread warnings were issued about preventing person-to-person (secondary) transmission. A disease transmission model, fi tted to the current data, was used to investigate likely re-ductions in illnesses that could result from interventions to prevent secondary transmission. The model indicates that exposure to contaminated spinach occurred early in the outbreak and that secondary transmission was similar to that in previous E. colioutbreaks (≈12%). The model also suggests that even a modestly effective strategy to interrupt secondary transmission (prevention of only 2%–3% of sec-ondary illnesses) could result in a reduction of ≈5%–11% of symptomatic cases. This analysis supports the use of wide-spread public health messages during outbreaks of E. coliO157:H7 with specifi c advice on how to interrupt secondary transmission