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Background: Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serotype Havana (antigenic formula: 1,13,23:f,g,[s]:- [z₇₉]) is a serovar of the O:13 (G) serogroup. Serovar Havana was first identified in 1937 after being isolated from spinal fluid during a meningitis outbreak at a hospital in Havana, Cuba, which led to the deaths of 21 newborns.

NCBI PD link for serovar Havana: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pathogens/isolates/#(taxgroup_name:%22Salmonella%20enterica%22)%20AND%20computed_types:(%22serotype=Havana%22) 

Genetic characteristics: Serovar Havana has been found to be polyphyletic with seven lineages identified. The strain (Havana ST1524) exhibited high virulence in the Galleria mellonella larvae infection model. Additionally, this strain was identified as carrying the mcr-9.1 gene, which, when cloned, confers a significant 16-fold increase in colistin resistance. The outbreak strains originating in pediatric wards of two hospitals in Shiraz, Iran demonstrated high resistance to chloramphenicol, tetracycline, gentamicin, ampicillin, kanamycin, and cephalothin except trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole. Among them, only 14 (32%) were susceptible to cephalothin, and 6 (14%) to gentamicin, with minimal inhibitory concentrations of 1.6 µg/mL and >3.1 µg/mL, respectively.

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Human outbreaks: There are multiple human outbreaks associated with serovar Havana. Here are some examples: 

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1. https://academic.oup.com/jid/article-abstract/68/2/125/899111
2. https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2025.1547190/full
3. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0882401024007216
4. https://academic.oup.com/tropej/article-abstract/28/1/14/1661403?redirectedFrom=fulltext&login=false
5. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26449943/#:~:text=Isolation%20and%20serotyping%20of%20Salmonella,and%20thereby%20prevent%20human%20infections.
6. https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2021/10/u-s-and-canada-part-of-salmonella-outbreak-linked-to-tahini-and-halva/
7. https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2019/11/first-australian-salmonella-havana-outbreak-traced-to-alfalfa-sprouts/
8. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1308574/
9. https://outbreakdatabase.com/outbreaks/georgia-chicken-1987
10. https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/rasff-window/screen/notification/485130
11. https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/rasff-window/screen/notification/465026
12. https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/rasff-window/screen/notification/433870
13. https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/rasff-window/screen/notification/750386
14. https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/rasff-window/screen/notification/661565
15. https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/rasff-window/screen/notification/638769
16. https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2021/12/fda-sends-warning-to-food-firms-over-import-violations-and-salmonella-in-retail-sampling/