Salmonella Multistate Outbreak Associated with Raw Scraped Ground Tuna Product

Salmonella Bareilly and Salmonella Nchanga Infections Associated with Raw Scraped Ground Tuna Product

A total of 258 individuals infected with the outbreak strains of Salmonella Bareilly or Salmonella Nchanga have been reported from 24 states and the District of Columbia. The 58 new cases are from California (2), Connecticut (1), Georgia (1), Illinois (8), Maryland (4), Massachusetts (3), Nebraska (1), New Jersey (8), New York (6), North Carolina (1), Pennsylvania (13), Tennessee (2), Virginia (7), and Wisconsin (1).

In April 2012, CDC began collaborating with public health officials in several states and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to investigate a multistate outbreak of Salmonella Nchanga infections. Sick people range in age from 17 to 86 years, with a median age of 33 years. Seventy-five percent of patients are female. Initial interviews with ill persons suggested a possible link to the Salmonella Bareilly outbreak.

As part of the ongoing Salmonella Bareilly outbreak investigation, FDA collected and tested samples of unopened packages of recalled Nakaochi Scrape from Moon Marine USA Corporation. FDA laboratories have identified Salmonella in two samples of Nakaochi scrape yellowfin tuna with a PFGE pattern indistinguishable from the Salmonella Bareilly strain associated with this outbreak. One of the samples also yielded another type of Salmonella with a PFGE pattern indistinguishable from the cluster of Salmonella Nchanga infections.

Testing conducted by the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture Trade and Consumer Protection laboratory isolated the outbreak strain of Salmonella Bareilly from one sample of recalled tuna and one sample of a spicy tuna roll made with recalled tuna. Based on an epidemiological link and results of laboratory testing, CDC has combined this Salmonella Bareilly investigation with an ongoing multistate outbreak investigation of Salmonella serotype Nchanga infections. The two associated PFGE patterns have been grouped together as the "outbreak strains."

Posted by George Daniels on Friday May 04 2012, 3:01 AM EST. Ref: U.S. FDA. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, Health. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0