News Archives |
Volume 4 No 36; 10 September 2010
Salmonella Java in the UK – an update
On 27 August, the Health Protection Agency (HPA) reported an increase in the number of fully sensitive human cases of Salmonella Java phage type 3B variant 9 (PT3B Var9) infection in England and that, as at 26 August, 67 cases had been confirmed [1]. The HPA's Laboratory of Gastrointestinal Pathogens (LGP) has since confirmed a total of 111 cases of the infection from all parts of the United Kingdom, with LGP receipt dates between 27 July and 7 September. Those affected range from three to 98 years of age with 38% of all cases aged between 20-39 years and 63% of cases female.
Cases have occurred in all HPA regions in England and Wales, with most cases occurring in the East of England (43%), London (13%) and the South East (16%). At least 15 cases have been admitted to hospital; no deaths have been reported.
The Salmonella Java isolates from 62 of the cases have been further typed by pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and all have the same PFGE profile SPTJXB.0001 (PulseNet Europe database). This strain was seen in an outbreak in 2007 when no known vehicle for transmission was identified, although there was a weak epidemiological link to salad leaves.
Salmonella enterica Paratyphi B variant Java causes gastro-enteritis in humans through the consumption of contaminated food but it can also be invasive, producing typhoid-like clinical symptoms, and lead to outbreaks. Nevertheless, in humans chronic carriage is rare and cases of S. Java should only be excluded from work, school and other institutional settings for 48 hours after first normal stools and will not require microbiological clearance [2].
This event was designated a level 3 incident on 20 August according the HPA Incident and Emergency Response Plan (IERP).
References
1. Increase in Salmonella Java in England, Health Protection Report 4(34), 27 August 2010. HPA website: http://www.hpa.org.uk/hpr/archives/2010/news3410.htm#java.2. Preventing person-to-person spread following gastrointestinal infections: guidelines for public health physicians and environmental health officers. Communicable Disease and Public Health 7(4), 27 December 2004, pp 362.