ABSTRACT
Foodbome illnesses on air flights are rare but can have a devasting impact, such as the 1984 salmonellosis outbreak that affected 177 international airline passen gers, leading to 37 hospitalizations and one fatality (32). Twenty-three foodbome outbreaks aboard commercial aircraft have been documented from 1947 to 1984 (Table 1). Fourteen (61%) of these occurred in the 1970s, with five in 1976 alone. Overall, seven outbreaks were caused by Salmonella, and five each by Staphylo coccus aureus and Vibrio spp. Since 1984, several more incidents have occurred.