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Background: Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Muenchen (antigenic formula 6,8:d:1,2) is a serovar of the O:8 (C₂-C₃) serogroup. In the U.S., Salmonella Muenchen is a common serovar that is reported among the top ten serovars isolated from humans. Strains of S. Muenchen with multidrug resistant phenotypes have been reported; one of these reports described an strain of S. Muenchen resistant to up to 12 antibiotics (i.e., ampicillin, chloramphenicol, streptomycin, sulfamethoxazole, tetracycline, amoxicillin-clavulanic acid, kanamycin, gentamicin, cephalothin, and ceftriaxone). Outbreaks caused by S. Muenchen have been associated with several foods, including orange juice and alfalfa sprouts. S. Muenchen was identified in rural areas of South Georgia in watersheds and wild animals; importantly, same PFGE patterns were idientified in human salmonellosis cases.

Animal reservoir: S. Muenchen is typically isolated from poultry, swine, cattle, and wilde animals.

Geographical distribution: S. Muenchen have been reported among the most common serovars in multiple locations; including the U.S., Australia, and Europe. In addition, microbiological identifications of S. Muenchen have benn reported in some countries in Africa (South Africa and Ethiopia), Asia (Singapore and Malaysia), and South America (Brazil).   This serovar was identified in rural areas of Georgia, US.

Serovar Muenchen was first described in 1932 and the first records of its isolation were documented in South and North America. Serovar Muenchen is one of the top 10 serovars responsible for human salmonellosis cases in US. CDC surveillance data indicated that serovar Muenchen represents approximately 2% of salmonellosis infections, ranking eighth among the leading Salmonella serovars. Since 2019, serovar Muenchen has been the most predominant serovar in Israel, identified in clinical, poultry, and food samples. It accounted for over 30% (937 of 3,112) of all clinical Salmonella isolates in 2019 and 39.5% (1,055 of 2,671) in 2020. This serovar was also the most common serovar in beef in Oceania. Between 2001 and 2007, serovar Muenchen ranked as the 15th most frequently isolated Salmonella serovar from humans across 37 countries participating in the WHO Global Foodborne Infections Network laboratory surveillance program.

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

Genetic characteristics: Serovar Muenchen has been found to be polyphyletic with four lineages identified. Cohen et al. revealed that the emergence of serovar Muenchen was characterized by a predominant clonal multidrug-resistant (MDR) strain carrying the epidemic megaplasmid pESI. This plasmid confers resistance to streptomycin/spectinomycin (aadA1), sulfonamides (sul1), tetracycline (tetRA), and trimethoprim (dfrA1), and demonstrates self-mobilization capability to E. coli and other Salmonella serovars. Notably, pESI also harbors multiple virulence determinants, including: (1) two chaperone-usher fimbrial clusters (Ipf and Klf); (2) a mercury resistance operon; and (3) the yersiniabactin iron acquisition system - all likely contributing to enhanced pathogenicity, host specificity, and environmental persistence. While initially reported in Israel, pESI-positive serovar Muenchen strains have now been identified in additional geographic regions such as South Africa, the UK, and US. Another Israeli study revealed that yersiniabactin gene cluster in pESI demonstrated specific upregulation under two key conditions: (1) mid-to-late logarithmic growth phase and (2) iron-depleted or oxidative stress (hydrogen peroxide) environments. Their findings revealed yersiniabactin's novel function in oxidative stress resistance and demonstrated its substantial contribution to serovar Infantis/Muenchen gut colonization in murine, promoting the worldwide transmission of pESI-bearing strains across diverse Salmonella lineages.

Animal reservoir: Swine, cattle, and poultry are reservoirs for serovar Muenchen. This serovar was also isolated from other animals such as raccoons and reptile. 

Geographical distribution: Serovar Muenchen has been found worldwide. 

Human outbreaks: Multiple human outbreaks have been linked to serovar Muenchen. Below are some examples. Outbreaks: A number of outbreaks in the U.S., Europe and Australia have been linked to S. Muenchen.

Relevant links and references:

1 Twenty-six people infected with the outbreak strains of Salmonella Muenchen (25 people) or Salmonella Kentucky (1 person) were reported from 12 states.

Border rejections:

¹ Salmonella Saintpaul, Muenchen, Matadi, and Newport were found. 

² Salmonella Muenchen and Javiana were found.

³ Salmonella Muenchen and Rubislaw were found.

Recalls: 

¹ Sweetwater Farms LLC in Inman, KS, issued a recall of a single lot of its fresh alfalfa sprouts. This recall was resulted by a multistate outbreak described above. 

² A total of 14 different Salmonella serovars including Salmonella Anatum, Mbandaka, Senftenberg, Typhimurium, Agona, Muenchen, Irumu, Tennessee, Montevideo, Infantis, Muenster, Derby, O rough;d;e,n,x, and London were found. Kasel issued a recall of four lots of their products.  

³ Sun Orchard issued a recall of its unpasteurized orange juice products. This recall was resulted by a multistate outbreak described above. 

Relevant links:

1. https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/152398/cdc_152398_DS1.pdf
2. https://web.archive.org/web/20030315113355/http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm4827a2.htm
3. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11574556
4. /ncidod/dbmd/phlisdata/salmtab/2001/SalmonellaAnnualSummary2001.pdf
5. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1198743X22002889
6. https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/aem.00591-19
7. https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/fpd.2010.0787?url_ver=Z39.88-2003&rfr_id=ori:rid:crossref.org&rfr_dat=cr_pub%20%200pubmed
8. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/19490976.2024.2369339?url_ver=Z39.88-2003&rfr_id=ori:rid:crossref.org&rfr_dat=cr_pub%20%200pubmed#abstract
9. https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2025.1547190/full#h10
10. https://boneandjoint.org.uk/Article/10.1302/0301-620X.46B4.697/pdf
11. https://www.aphis.usda.gov/sites/default/files/swine2006_is_salmonella_1.pdf
12. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4825103/
13. https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/22161
14. https://www.cdc.gov/salmonella/outbreaks/muenchen-03-25/investigation.html#:~:text=This%20means%20that%20people%20in,strain%2C%20also%20linked%20to%20geckos.
15. https://www.food.dtu.dk/english/newsarchive/2024/06/more-outbreaks-of-salmonella-in-2023
16. https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2021/12/salmonella-behind-a-quarter-of-eu-outbreaks-in-2020-with-20000-sickened/
17. https://archive.cdc.gov/#/details?url=https://www.cdc.gov/salmonella/muenchen-02-16/index.html
18. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28494842/
19. https://outbreakdatabase.com/outbreaks/2003-outbreak-of-salmonella-muenchen-linked-to-cantaloupehoneydew-melon
20. httpshttp://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0195670182900652
21. http://aac.asm.org/content/49/2/503.full
22. /S0362028X22009164?via%3Dihub
23. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC88372/
24. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm4827a2.htm
25. https://www1.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/content/cda-cdi2109-pdf-cnt.htm/$FILE/cdi2109b.pdf
26. httpshttp://www.plosonesciencedirect.orgcom/science/article/fetchObject.action?uri=info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0128937&representation=PDF/pii/0195670182900652#:~:text=An%20outbreak%20of%20Salmonella%20muenchen%20infection%20involving%2028%20children%20and,occurred%20in%20two%20immunodeficient%20patients.
27. https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/rasff-window/screen/notification/654263
28. https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/rasff-window/screen/notification/461765
29. https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/rasff-window/screen/notification/442889
30. https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/rasff-window/screen/notification/432927
31. https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2016/02/123962/
32. https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2013/02/fda-flexes-muscles-to-achieve-kasel-pet-treat-recall/
33. https://marlerclark.com/news_events/sun-orchard-salmonella-outbreak-multistate