Dawn Heisey-Grove, MPH¹, Guiseppe Conidi, MPH¹, Erica Berl, DVM, MPH², Robert Goldbaum¹, Barbara Bolstorff, MPH¹, and Alfred DeMaria, Jr, MD³. (1) MASSACHUSETTS DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH, STATE LABORATORY INSTITUTE, 305 SOUTH STREET, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130, 6179836859, dawn.heisey@state.ma.us, (2) Bureau of Health Quality Management, Division of Food and Drugs, State Lab, 305 South Street, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130, (3) Bureau of Communicable Disease Control, Massachusetts Department of Public Health, 305 South Street, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130

INTRODUCTION In July 2003, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) was notified of a gastrointestinal illness cluster in a correctional facility housing 1500 male inmates. Inmates and staff consumed the same food.

METHODS MDPH inspected the kitchen facilities and interviewed select inmates and staff. Stool specimens were collected from each foodworker and any inmate or staff who reported illness.

RESULTS Illness onsets ranged from 7/18/2003 - 8/15/2003. Stool specimens were collected from 132 inmates and staff; 39 inmates had laboratory-confirmed Salmonella infections, serotypes Newport, Muenster, Heidelberg, Hadar, and Montevideo. All staff specimens tested negative for enteric pathogens. Review of kitchen procedures did not reveal any significant problems. MDPH did receive reports of inmates surreptitiously taking raw or undercooked chicken. Moreover, inmates were allowed to store unrefrigerated food in their cells, and reheat food in microwaves in their units.

CONCLUSIONS Chicken was suspected because it was a high-risk food that the facility received uncooked. However, no clear source of infection was identified. The outbreak occurred in the summer with high ambient temperatures and no access to cold places food could be stored. To prevent future outbreaks in correctional facilities, consider the following: monitor food removal by foodhandling inmates from kitchen, provide information to inmates about the hazards of uncooked and undercooked food, disallow inmates from storing perishable food in their cells, exclusively use pre-cooked chicken in food service operations, question foodhandlers regarding symptoms before their shift, reinforce good hygiene practices, and develop a surveillance system to rapidly identify illness clusters.

Learning Objectives: