1984 outbreak affected approximately 1,000 passengers, aircrew and ground personnel
| Date of record | Spring 1984 |
|---|---|
| Location | United Kingdom and international routes |
| Type | Foodborne illness outbreak — multi-flight |
| Source tier | Tier 1 — peer-reviewed occupational medicine literature |
What the record shows
Published analysis in the occupational medicine literature records that in spring 1984 a major food poisoning outbreak affected close to 1,000 passengers, aircrew and ground personnel connected with a single airline. Salmonella was identified as the causative organism.
The paper describes worldwide operational impact, and states the event could have resulted in cessation of the airline's day-to-day operations. The scale of investigation is compared to that of a major aircraft disaster in the number of agencies involved.
The analysis concludes that while introduction of the organism into the food chain was a key factor, the scale of the outbreak resulted from the interaction of several further factors.
Evidence gap
The analysis identifies that contamination alone did not determine the scale of the event. The compounding factors are described in general terms. No public record establishes the temperature history of the affected food, which would be required to distinguish a contamination event from an amplification event.