More than 100 students fell sick in a Salmonella outbreak at a school in China in 2024 with an inspection uncovering multiple issues in the canteen, according to a recent report.

In September 2024, the local Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was notified by a school doctor about a foodborne outbreak at a middle school in Guiyang City.

Based on epidemiological investigations, environmental hygiene assessments, clinical symptoms and laboratory analyses, the outbreak was determined to be caused by Salmonella contamination. Salmonella Newport was detected in 22 patients, one canteen worker, and three retained egg cake and soybean milk samples.

According to a study in the journal China CDC Weekly, 112 patients met the case definition. The main clinical signs included fever, diarrhea, and vomiting.

Epidemiological work
The case-control study indicated that egg cakes and soybean milk were the suspicious food items. A total of 252 samples were collected, with lab testing detecting Salmonella Newport in 26 of them.

The school has 3,193 students and 312 teachers with 1,472 in middle school and 1,721 in high school. It operates two dining facilities, known as the First and Second canteens, which provide breakfast, lunch and dinner. The First canteen employs 69 food service workers, while the Second canteen has 48 staff members. 

Officials reviewed patient information from local medical institutions, the National...