Epidemiology of Salmonella typhi Infection in a Migrant Labor Camp in Dade County, Florida

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Abstract
In February and March 1973, 225 cases of probable or confirmed Salmonella typhi infection occurred at the South Dade Migrant Farm Labor Camp, Dade County, Florida. Five other cases occurred outside the camp. At least 184 patients were hospitalized. There were no deaths. This was the largest reported outbreak of typhoid fever in the United States since 1939. A mentally retarded girl at the camp developed typhoid fever in January and was probably the index case; a possible source of her infection was a suspected carrier living next door. Epidemiologic investigation suggested a common source and implicated the water supply at the camp as the mode of transmission. Engineering evaluation revealed substantial flaws in the design and construction of the camp's wells, chlorinator, and sewerage system, which were subsequently corrected. The outbreak subsided with few secondary cases and no transmission to persons unconnected with the camp, and without resort to quarantine or mass immunization against S. typhi.

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