[An outbreak of Salmonella typhimurium in the county of Funen during late summer. A case-controlled study].

An outbreak of Salmonella typhimurium infection, affecting 170 people in Funen, Denmark, was detected in late summer 1996. To detect risk factors for S. typhimurium infection and test the hypothesis that pork originating from a local slaughterhouse was the source, a matched case-control study of 47 cases and 89 controls was conducted. No single food item could be associated with S. typhimurium infection. However, of 29 cases, 24 (83%) had consumed pork which could be traced to the slaughterhouse. In comparison, 25 (46%) of 54 controls had consumed pork of the same origin (odds ratio: 6.7; 95% confidence interval: 1.8-23.5; p = 0.003). The results showed that consumption of pork from the concerned slaughterhouse was strongly associated with S. typhimurium infection.