Background: Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Tennessee (antigenic formula 6,7,14:z29:[1,2,7]) is a serovar of the O:7 (C1) serogroup. Infections from this serotype are uncommon, representing approximately 0.1% of US Salmonellosis cases between 1994 and 2004 and averaging just 52 per year. At the beginning of 1994 and in the following months, Denmark observed a substantial increase in serovar Tennessee cases among broiler flocks. Unlike typical Salmonella infections limited to the gut, certain serotypes, including serovar Tennessee, show a greater tendency to invade the urinary tract. Notably, urine isolates of serovar Tennessee surged from 15% (1995–2004) to 27% during 2005–2006 in US. When desiccated on sterile quartz, serovar Tennessee was found to accumulate substantial quantities of trehalose.
NCBI PD link for serovar Tennessee: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pathogens/isolates/#(taxgroup_name:%22Salmonella%20enterica%22)%20AND%20computed_types:(%22serotype=Tennessee%22)
Genetic characteristics: Wilson et al. analyzed 71 serovar Tennessee isolates and identified four clades with a total of 114 SNPs. Additionally, a 110 kb phage was identified, showing similarity to Salmonella phage SSU5 (103,299 bp).
Animal reservoir: Unknown, but chicken may be the potential reservoir for serovar Tennessee. This serovar was also isolated from other animals such as snake, seagull, and turtle.
Geographical distribution: According to the metadata from NCBI PD (accessed on 05/21/2025), serovar Tennessee has been reported occasionally worldwide but is found mainly in US and UK, with 660 and 167 out of a total of 1,174 serovar Tennessee isolates from those regions.
Human outbreaks:
| Year | Location | Associated source | Number of cases |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Germany | Bearded dragons | 18 |
| 2006-2007 | US: multistate | Peanut butter | 715 |
| 2006 | US: CO | Not identified1 | 10 |
| 1992-1993 | Canada and US | Milk products and infant formula | 48 |
1 The outbreak occurred in a neonatal intensive care unit.
Border rejections:
Year | Exporting country | Importing country | Associated source | Product category |
| 2020 | Russia | Finland | Rape seed meal | Feed materials |
| 2020 | China | Germany | Organic soy bean cake | Feed materials |
Recalls:
Year | Location | Associated source | Type |
| 2023 | Romania | Fish flour from Latvia | Feed materials |
| 2021 | Germany, Czech Republic | Sesame paste from Syria | Nuts, nut products and seeds |
Relevant links:
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/referencework/9780123739445/encyclopedia-of-microbiology
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18483898/
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2870177/
- https://web.archive.org/web/20060518011830/http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dbmd/phlisdata/salmonella.htm
- https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/fpd.2012.1254
- https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0146929#sec008
- https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/vbz.2010.0239
- https://academic.oup.com/cid/article-abstract/53/4/356/446014?redirectedFrom=fulltext
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0196655308004902
- https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00021081.htm
- https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/rasff-window/screen/notification/429707
- https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/rasff-window/screen/notification/423516
- https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/rasff-window/screen/notification/638863
- https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/rasff-window/screen/notification/512501