Background: Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Kottbus (antigenic formula 6,8:e,h:1,5) is a serovar of the O:8 (C2-C3) serogroup. Animal reservoirAcross Europe, it is one of the 10 predominant serovars found in turkey. More specifically, according to the 2006–2007 European baseline survey on Salmonella in turkey flocks, serovar Kottbus was among the top five serovars in fattening flocks (8.3%) and the second most prevalent in breeding flocks (15.6%).
NCBI PD link for serovar Kottbus: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pathogens/isolates/#(taxgroup_name:%22Salmonella%20enterica%22)%20AND%20computed_types:(%22serotype=Kottbus%22)
Genetic characteristics: Serovar Kottbus has been found in poultry, cattle, pigs and reptilesto be polyphyletic with four lineages identified and two stand-alone singletons that do not cluster with any other Salmonella Kottbus isolates. In Denmark, serovarKottbus carrying blaNDM-1 on a 43 kb IncN2 plasmid was first isolated in an 82-year-old man with end-stage lung cancer. By analyzing 95 serovar Kottbus isolates obtained in Germany from different sources during the years 2000 to 2011, Toboldt et al. identified three lineages. The majority of human isolates clustered in lineage 1, represented by ST212 and ST808. Lineage 2, characterized by ST582, contained human isolates along with a substantial proportion from poultry and poultry products, and to a lesser degree, other livestock. The third lineage (ST1669) comprised four isolates from both reptilian and human sources. Resistance to nalidixic acid and ciprofloxacin was predominantly found in lineage 2, which contained a higher proportion of resistant isolates than either lineage 1 or 3.
Animal reservoir: Poultry including chicken and turkey may be potential reservoirs for serovar Kottbus.
Geographical distribution: Serovar Kottbus has been found in Germany, and Denmark, Spain, reportedly, also in the United States.reported worldwide occasionally.
Human outbreaksOutbreaks:
| Year | Location | Associated Sourcesource | Number of Cases | 1977 | NA | Human milk | cases |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Germany | Quail eggs, smoked ham | 69 | ||||
| 2006 | Spain | Bottled water | 46 | 7||||
| 2001 | USAUS | Alfalfa sprouts | 23 | ||||
| 1987 | SpainItaly | Bottled waterHorse bresaola | 4614 | ||||
| 1977 | Germany | Quail eggs, smoked ham | 69 |
Border Rejections:
...
Year
...
Location
...
Associated Source
...
Number of Cases
...
2022
...
Germany
...
Goose breast fillet from Poland
...
NA
...
2023
...
Bulgaria
...
Poultry meat from Poland
...
NA
| US | Human milk | 7 |
Border rejections: Multiple border rejections linked to chicken products imported from Poland into Bulgaria have been reported. Here are some examples.
Year | Exporting country | Importing country | Associated source | Product category |
| 2021 | Hungary | Italy | Frozen duck fillets | Poultry meat and poultry meat products |
| 2020 | Poland | Bulgaria | Chicken leg quarters | Poultry meat and poultry meat products |
| 2020 | Poland | Bulgaria | Frozen chicken leg1 | Poultry meat and poultry meat products |
1 Salmonella Enteritidis and Kottbus were found.
Recalls:
| Year | Location | Recalled product | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Finland | Lamb ears1 | Pet food |
1 Salmonella Kottbus, Mishmarmaek and Abony were found in lamb ears (dog chew) from Turkey via Denmark.
Relevant linksRelevant links and references:
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7078581/doaj.org/article/a82b59f70be04dccaa1209e4af7a9d32
- https://www.eurosurveillancefrontiersin.org/contentjournals/microbiology/articles/10.28073389/eswfmicb.12.28.03235-en2025.1547190/full#h10
- https://wwwpmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8326659/
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378113514000558
- https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2020/05/wgs-aided-detection-of-parallel-salmonella-outbreaks-in-germany/#more-194537
- https://www.eurosurveillance.org/content/10.2807/esw.12.28.03235-en
- https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5101a3.htm
- https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF00151716
- https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/355825
- https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/rasff-window/screen/notification/468397
- https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/rasff-window/screen/notification/424396
- https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/rasff-window/screen/notification/416257
- https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/rasff-window/screen/notification/685715610647