Another Outbreak Tied to Another Rare Salmonella Strain [Update]

Updated August 21 with Salmonella Irumu outbreak information

Rare Salmonella strains are having a moment.

For the third time in nine months, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is investigating a food poisoning outbreak caused by a rare strain of Salmonella. The agency hasn’t revealed many details about the outbreak, only that investigators are conducting a traceback investigation of a Salmonella Irumu outbreak that has sickened at least 26 people.

The traceback means they have enough information to know which food patients said they ate before they became sick and where they purchased it. Using that information, they trace its journey from the store back to where it was grown.

Salmonella Irumu is Extremely Rare

Salmonella Irumu is a rare strain. Between 2006 and 2021 just one case was reported in China, according to a study on antibiotic resistance of Salmonella isolates at a children’s hospital. In the U.S., between 2006 and 2016 a total of 70 cases were reported. Compare that with more common strains Salmonella Newport  -47,481 cases and Salmonella Typhimurium- 63,773 cases during that same 10-year period.

On August 21, 2024 the FDA released an update on the outbreak stating that mangoes had been identified as the outbreak’s source. The agency determined this through epidemiological and traceback investigations conducted with state partners and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

However, tests on product samples did not test positive for Salmonella. 

Salmonella Africana Cucumber Outbreak

Last month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), announced a Salmonella Africana outbreak linked to cucumbers distributed by Fresh Start Produce.

Salmonella Africana is extremely rare. Few illnesses have been linked to it and the cucumber outbreak it has caused.  “This strain causes severe illness,”  noted Salmonella Lawyer Eric Hageman of the national law firm Pritzker Hageman said.  “The hospitalization rate for this strain is more than twice the average.”

A second strain has been added to the outbreak, which now includes 449 illnesses in 31 states and Washington DC. At least 125 people have been hospitalized.