Australia’s First Salmonella Havana Outbreak Linked to Sprouts

According to researchers, the 2018 outbreak of Salmonella havana (S. Havana) linked to sprouts was the first identified outbreak of the rare strain in Australia.

In June 2018, an increase in Salmonella havana was detected through routine surveillance by the Communicable Disease Control Branch (CDCB) of SA Health (South Australia).

From 2013 to 2017, only three to 14 cases were reported to CDCB per year and no previous outbreaks had been attributed to this strain of Salmonella.

Between June and July 2018, 31 cases of Salmonella havana were reported to the CDCB. Nineteen of these were female, 12 male, and symptoms lasted for between two and 23 days.

Of these, 13 were hospitalised. According to researchers, this suggests that there was either a high dose of the bacteria in the alfalfa sprouts, or the outbreak strain was particularly pathogenic, or contagious.

Read more: https://www.foodsafety.com.au/news/australias-first-salmonella-havana-outbreak-linked-sprouts

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