Cluster of Salmonella Enteritidis in Sweden 2005-2006 – suspected source: almonds

L Ledet Muller; M Hjertqvist; L Payne; H Pettersson; A Olsson; L Plym-Forshell; Y Andersson

doi:10.2807/esm.12.06.00718-en

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Cluster of Salmonella Enteritidis in Sweden 2005-2006 – suspected source: almonds
L Ledet Muller^1,2 , M Hjertqvist¹ , L Payne¹ , H Pettersson¹ , A Olsson¹ , L Plym-Forshell³ , Y Andersson¹
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Affiliations: ¹ Smittskyddsinstitutet (Swedish Institute for Infectious Disease Control, SMI), Stockholm, Sweden ² European Programme for Intervention Epidemiology Training (EPIET) ³ Livsmedelsverket (National Food Administration), Uppsala, Sweden

Correspondence:
L Ledet Müller
luise.ledet.muller smi.ki.se
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Citation style for this article: Ledet Muller L, Hjertqvist M, Payne Lara, Pettersson H, Olsson A, Plym-Forshell L, Andersson Y. Cluster of Salmonella Enteritidis in Sweden 2005-2006 – suspected source: almonds. Euro Surveill. 2007;12(6):pii=718. https://doi.org/10.2807/esm.12.06.00718-en

Abstract

Previous outbreaks of Salmonella Enteritidis in Canada and the United States have been associated with the consumption of almonds. From December 2005 to August 2006 a cluster of 15 cases of Salmonella Enteritidis NST 3+ was reported in Sweden. A case-control study was performed to identify the source of transmission. Three controls per case were randomly selected, matched on sex, age and place of residence. Cases and controls were interviewed by telephone and data were analysed with a conditional logistic model. The results showed that eating almonds was a risk factor for infection with Salmonella Enteritidis NST3+ (unmatched odds ratio 45.0, 95% confidence interval: 4.8-421.8). No Salmonella was isolated from almonds tested in the study. In conclusion, almonds could be the source of the outbreak and should be considered when investigating outbreaks as well as sporadic cases of Salmonella Enteritidis.