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A multi-provincial outbreak of Salmonella Newport infections associated with red onions: A report of the largest Salmonella outbreak in Canada in over 20 years

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 September 2024

Leann Denich*
Affiliation:
Public Health Agency of Canada, Centre for Food-borne, Environmental & Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
Joyce M. Cheng
Affiliation:
Public Health Agency of Canada, Centre for Food-borne, Environmental & Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
Courtney R. Smith
Affiliation:
Public Health Agency of Canada, Canadian Field Epidemiology Program, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Marsha Taylor
Affiliation:
British Columbia Centre for Disease Control, Communicable Diseases & Immunization Service, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Robin Atkinson
Affiliation:
Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Office of Food Safety and Recall, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Eva Boyd
Affiliation:
British Columbia Centre for Disease Control, Communicable Diseases & Immunization Service, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Linda Chui
Affiliation:
Alberta Precision Laboratories-Public Health (ProvLab), Edmonton, Alberta, Canada University of Alberta, Department of Laboratory Medicine & Pathology, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Lance Honish
Affiliation:
Alberta Health Services, Environmental Public Health, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Leah Isaac
Affiliation:
Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Office of Food Safety and Recall, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Ashley Kearney
Affiliation:
Public Health Agency of Canada, National Microbiology Laboratory, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Jennifer J. Liang
Affiliation:
Public Health Agency of Canada, Centre for Food-borne, Environmental & Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
Victor Mah
Affiliation:
Alberta Health, Public Health Division, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Anna J. W. Manore
Affiliation:
Public Health Agency of Canada, Centre for Food-borne, Environmental & Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
Zachary D. McCormic
Affiliation:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Division of Foodborne, Waterborne, and Environmental Diseases, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Cynthia Misfeldt
Affiliation:
Public Health Agency of Canada, National Microbiology Laboratory, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Celine Nadon
Affiliation:
Public Health Agency of Canada, National Microbiology Laboratory, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Kane Patel
Affiliation:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Division of Foodborne, Waterborne, and Environmental Diseases, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Davendra Sharma
Affiliation:
Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Office of Food Safety and Recall, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Alexander Todd
Affiliation:
Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Office of Food Safety and Recall, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
April Hexemer
Affiliation:
Public Health Agency of Canada, Centre for Food-borne, Environmental & Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
*
Corresponding author: Leann Denich; Email: leann.denich@phac-aspc.gc.ca
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Abstract

An investigation into an outbreak of Salmonella Newport infections in Canada was initiated in July 2020. Cases were identified across several provinces through whole-genome sequencing (WGS). Exposure data were gathered through case interviews. Traceback investigations were conducted using receipts, invoices, import documentation, and menus. A total of 515 cases were identified in seven provinces, related by 0–6 whole-genome multi-locus sequence typing (wgMLST) allele differences. The median age of cases was 40 (range 1–100), 54% were female, 19% were hospitalized, and three deaths were reported. Forty-eight location-specific case sub-clusters were identified in restaurants, grocery stores, and congregate living facilities. Of the 414 cases with exposure information available, 71% (295) had reported eating onions the week prior to becoming ill, and 80% of those cases who reported eating onions, reported red onion specifically. The traceback investigation identified red onions from Grower A in California, USA, as the likely source of the outbreak, and the first of many food recall warnings was issued on 30 July 2020. Salmonella was not detected in any tested food or environmental samples. This paper summarizes the collaborative efforts undertaken to investigate and control the largest Salmonella outbreak in Canada in over 20 years.

Information

Type
Original Paper
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BYCreative Common License - NCCreative Common License - ND
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided that no alterations are made and the original article is properly cited. The written permission of Cambridge University Press must be obtained prior to any commercial use and/or adaptation of the article.
Copyright
© Public Health Agency of Canada, 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press
Figure 0

Figure 1. Distribution of Canadian Salmonella Newport outbreak cases (n = 515) by symptom onset, specimen collection or Salmonella isolation date from 15 June to 29 August 2020. Each box denotes a case.

Figure 1

Figure 2. Red onion traceback distribution diagram for thirteen Canadian location specific case sub-clusters (restaurant or congregate living facility) with red onion exposures initially identified at the beginning of the investigation. The diagram depicts the number of cases associated with each identified sub-cluster and how they are linked to a single supplier, distributor and grower.

Figure 2

Table 1. Number of Salmonella Newport outbreak cases reporting onion exposure one week prior to illness onset, by onion type and exposure setting/location, Canada, July to September 2020

Figure 3

Table 2. Number of location-specific Salmonella Newport outbreak cases identified as part of a sub-cluster by exposure setting/location, Canada, July to September 2020