{
  "abstract": "On January 19 and 20, 2024, a caterer in Westchester County, New York, served a seven-course game dinner to approximately 250 guests each evening (500 total). Six courses contained venison from 10 deer harvested in early January through a donation program in another county. All venison courses were reheated on site except the backstrap steaks, which were never frozen and were grilled rare to medium-rare. On February 1, an infectious diseases physician notified the health department of attendees with fever, headache, and myalgia without gastrointestinal symptoms. The caterer and food preparation site were investigated on February 5, and the first positive Toxoplasma gondii serology on February 7 prompted a press release and provider alert. Sixty-three attendees contacted the health department, of whom 30 (48%) sought medical care and 26 (41%) were tested. Specimens from 16 of the 26 (62%) could be forwarded to the Remington Laboratory for confirmatory testing; the remaining 10 (38%) were tested at non-reference laboratories only. Symptom onset ranged from 23 January to 8 February 2024. Among attendees with onset within a biologically plausible interval after the dinners, 15 (24%) were confirmed, 10 (16%) probable, and 16 (25%) suspect; one (2%) had evidence of past infection only. Two raw venison samples were PCR positive for T. gondii, tissue cysts were observed on histopathology, and genotyping identified haplogroup 12, associated with wildlife and more severe human disease. Wild game from donation programs should not enter commercial food service, and at-risk guests should be informed when it is served.Keywords.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "New York State Department of Health, Albany, New York, USA.",
    "College of Integrated Health Sciences, Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, University at Albany, Albany, New York, USA.",
    "Westchester County Department of Health, White Plains, New York, USA.",
    "Sutter Health, Palo Alto Medical Foundation Toxoplasma Serology Laboratory, the Jack S. Remington Laboratory for Specialty Diagnostics, National Reference Center for the Study and Diagnosis of Toxoplasmosis, Palo Alto, California, USA.",
    "Palo Alto Medical Foundation, Department of Pathology, Palo Alto, California, USA.",
    "University Hospital Center of Nice, Service of Parasitology-Mycology, University of Côte D'Azur, INSERM 1065 C3M, Nice, France.",
    "French National Reference Center for Toxoplasmosis and INSERM U1094, IRD UMR270, University of Limoges, CHU Limoges, Epidemiology of Chronic Diseases in Tropical Zone, Omega Health, Limoges, France."
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 17,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Kelly A Barrett"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Amy Robbins"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "David Nicholas"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Kevin Smith"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Nicole Benevento"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Allison Hopper"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Robert Bellach"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Ambika Soondar"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Sherlita Amler"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Valérie Bonetti"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Alexander Chen"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "José G Montoya",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-3378-8071"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Jorge P Rodriguez-Soto"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        5
      ],
      "name": "Christelle Pomares"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        6
      ],
      "name": "Hélène Yera",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-9573-3666"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        6
      ],
      "name": "Karine Passebosc-Faure"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Ada J Huang"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/2mv30p4q3ra0c.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1093/ofid/ofag596",
  "fulltext_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13693474",
  "id": "2mv30p4q3ra0c",
  "issns": [
    "2328-8957"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42921481",
  "language": "eng",
  "licence": "CC-BY-NC-ND",
  "licence_label": "CC BY-NC-ND",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "2405|Toxoplasma gondii Research Studies"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7221033873",
  "pdf_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13693474?pdf=render",
  "pmcid": "PMC13693474",
  "pmid": "42921481",
  "published": "2026-10-08",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/2mv30p4q3ra0c.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:20:33Z",
      "native_id": "MED:42921481",
      "source": "europepmc",
      "url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42921481"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "openalex:2405|Toxoplasma gondii Research Studies",
      "subfield": "microbiology"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Toxoplasma gondii Outbreak Associated With Catered Venison Dinners, Westchester County, New York-January-February 2024.",
  "title_text": "Toxoplasma gondii Outbreak Associated With Catered Venison Dinners, Westchester County, New York-January-February 2024.",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:20:33Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/2mv30p4q3ra0c",
  "venue": "Open forum infectious diseases",
  "versions": []
}