Background: There are few studies about the effect of alcoholic beverages in food-borne disease outbreaks.
Methods: We studied this effect during an outbreak of Salmonella ohio infection that occurred in Castellón (Spain) in May 2000. S. ohio was isolated in stools of patients and also in implicated foods.
Results: Analysis was restricted to the group that was exposed to contaminated food (51 persons). We compared attack rates by level of alcohol intake (none, 1-40 gm, and >40 gm). The adjusted relative risks in the two alcohol categories were 0.73 [95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.46-1.15] and 0.54 (95% CI = 0.31-0.96), respectively.
Conclusions: We discuss the possible protective effect of alcoholic beverages in some food-borne infectious outbreaks.