Table 4.
Comparison of food consumption data obtained by questioning case-patients and control persons in past outbreak investigations in Germany with data obtained in food consumption survey of the general adult population, Germany, 2017
| Causative agent of the outbreak (year of outbreak; number of cases) | Causative (or suspected) food item | Consumption frequency among case-patientsa (%) | Consumption frequency among control group (%) | Consumption frequency in the general population (this study) (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) O104:H4 (2011; >3800 cases) | Sprouts | 25 | 9 | 9b |
| Raw tomatoesc | 85 | 77 | 85 | |
| Raw cucumbersc | 88 | 66 | 73 | |
| Leaf lettucec | 77 | 64 | 68 | |
| Salmonella Newport (2011; 106 cases) | Mung bean sprouts | 33 | 2 | 9b |
| Salmonella Derby (2013/14; 145 cases, mainly elderly patients) | ‘Teewurst’d | 70 | Not determined | 16 (25e) |
| Salmonella Muenchen (2014; 247 cases) | Raw ground pork | 27 | Not determined | 7 |
| Sausages that contain raw pork | 24 | Not determined | 16 | |
| Salmonella Kottbus Cluster 1 (2017; 51 cases) | Raw ham | 82 | 47 | 45 |
a
Determined in hypothesis-generating interviews or in case-control studies.
b
‘Unheated sprouts or seedlings’.
c
Food items that had been suspected early in the outbreak investigation.
d
‘Teewurst’: spreadable sausage that contains raw pork.
e
Age group of 65 years and older.