Introduction On 8 February 2013, a cluster of influenza AH1N1 in a fishing boat docked at the port of Dakhla was reported to the Regional Health Directorate of Oued Ed-Dahab Lagouira. An epidemiological investigation was conducted to identify the source of infection, control the outbreak and prevent its extension. Methods: The investigation of this case grouped AH1N1 began on 12 February. It involved 26 fishermen aboard a boat docked at the port of Dakhla. Data were collected using an individual questionnaire. Results: The occurrence of cases occurred between 1 and 10 February. The age of cases ranged from 26 to 55 years with an average of 40 (+ / - 8 years). Depending on the date of onset of symptoms, the first case dates back to February 1, 11 days before the start of the investigation. Among the 14 cases, 2 were confirmed for the AH1N1 virus. The last case dating back to February 10, and the epidemic peak was reached on February 4. Cases were all presented with fever, cough and ache. The overall attack rate was 14/26 (53.8%). Attack rate vary by age and disease and was significantly higher in the age group of 36-45 years. Conclusion: This investigation allowed us to document the AH1N1 outbreak in a fishing boat and the importance of early implementation of control measures at the onset of the first case in a community.
The aim of this work was to evaluate the contamination of chicken meat marketed in Rabat, Morocco by Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus). This pathogen was isolated from 300 samples of chicken meat collected during the period from June 2011 to December 2012. The overall prevalence of S. aureus recovered from the 300 samples analyzed was 16.66% and the average load of contamination was 2.67 log10 CFU/g. While this prevalence was higher in traditionals slaughterhouses (27%) compared with that found in supermarkets (8%). The results of this study revealed that the degree of compliance with good hygiene practices in traditionals slaughterhouses has a significant impact on the hygienic quality of chicken meat. To improve the safety and hygienic quality of this meat, the implementation of good hygiene and continuous microbial surveillance is an absolute necessity to protect consumer health.
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