4. Discussion
Due to the descriptive and observational nature of the study design,
a direct causal link could not be established between consumption of
chicken or eggs and salmonellosis in metropolitan Adelaide in 2008.
However, of the 94 participants included in the study, 47.9% were
notified with aSalmonellaserotype that was also identified in the retail
chicken and egg survey, and 62.2% of these participants ate either
chicken or eggs or both in the week before illness onset. High
prevalence ofS.Infantis in human notifications, chicken samples and
egg samples could indicate that chicken or eggs are a likely source of
this particular Salmonellaserotype. The contemporaneous nature of
sample collections allowed for analysis of trends over time and the
inclusion of the questionnaire allowed further analysis and description
of results compared to other studies that have only used historical data
sets without specific surveillance questions for human participants.