2102-B - Lessons from Multiagency Response to Large Foodborne Outbreak

Session Description: In the early morning of April 25th, 2022 the Riverside County Department of Public Health (DOPH) received an after-hours notification of a potential foodborne outbreak involving a privately sponsored staff appreciation event that took place a few hours prior on the evening of April 24, 2022. The local Fire Department was first to arrive on the scene, performing initial patient triage and initiating the multiagency outbreak response by contacting the DOPH Duty-Officer. Approximately 500 shuttle drivers attended the event and hundreds of them developed food poisoning symptoms shortly after dinner. At least two dozen shuttle drivers were transported to nearby hospitals from the event site. Given the scale and urgency of the foodborne outbreak, a joint multidisciplinary team was formed by DOPH and the Riverside County Department of Environment Health to conduct a timely investigation, including site inspection, patient/contact tracing and interviewing, lab specimen collection, data analysis, reporting and coordination with local news media.

Using this large foodborne outbreak as an example, this education session will introduce the current DOPH outbreak response plan involving multiagency partnerships across Riverside County. The presenter will briefly address the duties and responsibilities of each agency and largely focus on the collaborative investigation workflow. Lessons learned from the investigation will be discussed in order to identify critical components for future improvements.