Salmonella Mbandaka

Background: Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Mbandaka (antigenic formula 6,7,14:z₁₀:e,n,z₁₅) is a serovar of the O:7 (C₁) serogroup. This serovar was first isolated in 1948 from a human salmonellosis case in the Belgian Congo. Serovar Mbandaka was ranked among the top 10 serovars responsible for human salmonellosis cases in Europe. This serovar was also among the 20 most prevalent serovars associated with human cases in other countries, along with Israel, North America, Africa, and New Zealand. In a Chinese pig farm, serovar Mbandaka (12.6%) ranked as the fourth most prevalent serovar identified.

Serovar Mbandaka was reported to cause travel-associated sacroiliac osteomyelitis in a healthy adolescent. 

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

Genetic characteristics: A Canadian study using CRISPR-SeroSeq on Ontario poultry farms found that spacer reads could not distinguish between serovars Montevideo and Mbandaka.

Animal reservoir: Chicken is the main reservoir for serovar Mbandaka. This serovar was also isolated from other animals (pigs, cattle, fish, wild birds, and canine). 

Geographical distribution: Serovar Mbandaka has been reported worldwide.

Human outbreaks: Numerous outbreaks in different countries have been linked to serovar Mbandaka, imported spices have been associated with several of these outbreaks. Below are some examples. 

¹ Multiple serovars, including Salmonella Altona, Cerro, Enteritidis, Indiana, Infantis, Johannesburg, Mbandaka, and Typhimurium, were linked to this outbreak. The case number represents the total number of cases associated with the outbreak and does not specifically indicate the number of people infected by Salmonella Mbandaka.

² Salmonella Mbandaka ST413 was the outbreak strain. A total of 300 cases were reported by March 15th, 2024. 

³ A total of 16 cases with the outbreak strains of Salmonella Montevideo (four persons) or Salmonella Mbandaka (12 persons) were reported from nine states.

⁴ Salmonella Infantis, Lille, Newport, and Mbandaka were involved in this outbreak. The case number represents the total number of cases associated with the outbreak and does not specifically indicate the number of people infected by Salmonella Mbandaka.

Border rejections: Multiple border rejections linked to serovar Mbandaka have been reported. Below are some examples.

¹ Salmonella Agona, Idikan, Richmond, Falkensee, Molade, Mbandaka and Senftenberg were found. 

Recalls: Multiple recalls linked to serovar Mbandaka have been reported. Below are some examples.

¹ This recall was resulted by a multistate outbreak described above. Kellogg company voluntarily recalled their 15.3 oz. and 23 oz. packages of honey smacks cereal.

Relevant links:

1. https://www.aaem.pl/Fifteen-years-of-successful-spread-of-Salmonella-enterica-serovar-Mbandaka-clone-ST413-in-Poland-and-its-public-health-consequences,72405,0,2.html
2. https://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/efsajournal/pub/3129
3. https://orbit.dtu.dk/files/5208629/PhD_Thesis_RSHE_281209%20(2)%2017x24.pdf
4. https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/fpd.2021.0018?url_ver=Z39.88-2003&rfr_id=ori%3Arid%3Acrossref.org&rfr_dat=cr_pub++0pubmed
5. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1155/2013/543147
6. https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/aem.01923-22?url_ver=Z39.88-2003&rfr_id=ori:rid:crossref.org&rfr_dat=cr_pub%20%200pubmed
7. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39807938/
8. https://www.cdc.gov/salmonella/outbreaks/backyardpoultry-05-24/?CDC_AAref_Val=https://www.cdc.gov/salmonella/backyardpoultry-05-24/index.html
9. https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/publications-data/rapid-outbreak-assessment-multi-country-outbreak-salmonella-mbandaka-st413-linked#:~:text=European%20Centre%20for%20Disease%20Prevention,first%20update%20%2D%2021%20March%202024.
10. https://outbreakdatabase.com/outbreaks/2021-outbreak-of-salmonella-mbandaka-infections-at-a-college-maine
11. https://archive.cdc.gov/#/details?url=https://www.cdc.gov/salmonella/mbandaka-06-18/index.html
12. https://archive.cdc.gov/www_cdc_gov/salmonella/montevideo-tahini-05-13/index.html#:~:text=Investigation%20of%20the%20Outbreak,-During%20routine%20product&text=tahini%20sesame%20paste.-,Additional%20testing%20by%20the%20FDA%20isolated%20Salmonella%20Mbandaka%20from%20imported,recalled%20its%20tahini%20sesame%20paste.
13. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7033a1.htm
14. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6310a4.htm
15. https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/rasff-window/screen/notification/728058
16. https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/rasff-window/screen/notification/672949
17. https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/rasff-window/screen/notification/604602
18. https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/rasff-window/screen/notification/482582
19. https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/rasff-window/screen/notification/711679
20. https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/rasff-window/screen/notification/693421
21. https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/rasff-window/screen/notification/613060
22. https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/rasff-window/screen/notification/593511
23. https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/rasff-window/screen/notification/559826
24. https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts/kellogg-company-voluntarily-recalls-honey-smacks-cereal-due-possible-health-risk

1. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36586112/
2. https://bmcgenomics.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1471-2164-14-365
3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7653644/