Packed withSalmonella—Investigation of an International Outbreak ofSalmonellaSenftenberg Infection Linked to Contamination of Prepacked Basil in 2007

Abstract

Salmonella Senftenberg is uncommon in the United Kingdom. In January-June 2007, the Health Protection Agency reported on 55 primary human cases of Salmonella Senftenberg in England and Wales. In May 2007, fresh basil sold in the United Kingdom was found to be contaminated with Salmonella Senftenberg. We launched an investigation to elucidate the cause of this outbreak. Isolates were examined using plasmid profiling and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, and the outbreak strain (SSFTXB.0014) was identified. We enquired via Enter-net whether other countries had isolated the outbreak strain, analyzed samples of fresh herbs from U.K. retailers, and interviewed patients on food history. Thirty-two patient-cases were referred to this outbreak in England and Wales. Onsets of illness occurred between 5 March and 6 June 2007. Fifty-six percent of patient-cases were females and 90% adults (>20 years old); three were admitted to hospital as a result of Salmonella infection. Scotland, Denmark, the Netherlands, and the United States reported on 19 cases of Salmonella Senftenberg infection presenting with the outbreak strain since January 2007. Eight samples of prepacked fresh basil imported from Israel tested positive with the same strain. A minority of patients could recall the consumption of basil before illness, and some reported consumption of products where basil was a likely ingredient. Environmental investigations in Israel did not identify the contamination source. Microbiological evidence suggested an association between contamination of fresh basil and the cases of Salmonella Senftenberg infection, leading to withdrawal of basil from all potentially affected batches from the U.K. market.

Emergence and Prevalence of Non-H 2 S-Producing Salmonella enterica Serovar Senftenberg Isolates Belonging to Novel Sequence Type 1751 in China

“…Moreover, five isolates from Nanjing and two isolates from Shanghai in group III displayed the same PFGE profile and ST, which suggested a close genetic relationship. Given all of this, enough attention should be paid to avoid further dissemination of S. Senftenberg, which has appeared in some regions (7,27). Seventeen non-H 2 S-producing S. Senftenberg isolates were identified in the surveillance; 16 of these isolates were from clinical samples, and one was from a seafood product.…”

Extremely Drug-Resistant Salmonella enterica Serovar Senftenberg Infections in Patients in Zambia

“…Senftenberg has also previously been reported as the cause of serious human infections (14)(15)(16). S. Senftenberg is well recognized as being common among poultry (17), but it has also been associated with infant formula (18), mussels (19), and vegetables (16,20,21). It is noteworthy that one of the patients claimed to have consumed vegetables prior to onset of symptoms.…”

Scientific Opinion on the risk posed by pathogens in food of non-animal origin. Part 1 (outbreak data analysis and risk ranking of food/pathogen combinations)

“…Consumption of FoNAO not already identified as associated salmonellosis includes: vegetables including tomatoes and peppers (CDC, 2005;Greene et al, 2008;Gupta et al, 2007;Mody et al, 2011;SSI, 2011), fresh herbs (Elviss et al, 2009;Pezzoli et al, 2008), types of whole, fresh, pulped, frozen or juiced fruits (e.g. melons, oranges, papaya, mangoes) (CDC, 2006a(CDC, , 2010(CDC, , 2011b(CDC, , 2012a(CDC, , 2012bGibbs et al, 2009;Loharikar et al, 2012;Noel et al, 2010;Sivapalasingam et al, 2003;Vojdani et al, 2008); salads and other leafy greens (Barton Behravesh et al, 2011;CDC, 2006b;Gajraj et al, 2012;Nygard et al, 2008); nuts, seeds and derived products, e.g.…”