Salmonella Orion

Background: Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Orion (antigenic formula 3,{10}{15}{15,34}:y:1,5) is a serovar of the O:3,10 (E₁) serogroup.

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

Genetic characteristics:

Animal reservoir: Unknown, but according to the metadata from NCBI PD, serovar Orion was isolated from pigs, cattle, chicken and other animals.

Geographical distribution: According to the metadata from NCBI PD (accessed 05/13/2025), serovar Orion has been reported worldwide but is predominantly found in US (277 of 512 serovar Orion isolates were collected in US).

Human outbreaks:

Year	Location	Associated source	Number of cases
2019-2021	EU: multi-country	Halva or tahini from Syria¹	121

¹ Salmonella Amsterdam, Havana, Kintambo, Mbandaka, Orion, and Senftenberg were involved in this outbreak. The case number here only reflects the total number of people who got infected, not just those infected by serovar Orion.

Border rejections:

Year	Exporting country	Importing country	Associated source	Product category
2022	Uganda	Germany	Organic sesame seeds	Nuts, nut products and seeds

Recalls:

Year	Location	Recalled food	Type
2022	Norway	Halva from Syria¹	Confectionery
2021	Germany	Tahini halva with pistachios from Syria²	Confectionery

¹ Salmonella Senftenberg and Orion were found.

² This recall was caused by a multi-country outbreak described above. Salmonella Orion and group E serovars were found.

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Salmonella Orion