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user-9b773, last updated by Phutthaphorn Phaophu on Jun 26, 2025
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Background: Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Sandiego (antigenic formula 1,4,[5],12:e,h:e,n,z15) is a serovar of the O:4 (B) serogroup. Serovar Sandiego oldest verified isolation was in 1929 in Denmark. It was in the top 15 most commonly reported Salmonella enterica serovars related to animal contact outbreaks in the United States during 2009–2014.
This serovar was also isolated from turkey-processing plants in the USA in the 1960's. and pig farm environment in Brazil. Although there has been a limited number of research on Salmonella Sandiego, human infections caused by Salmonella Sandiego have been reported, such as a post-traumatic chronic subdural haematoma in an alcoholic heavy drinker patient, and a prevertebral neck abscess in a type 2 diabetes mellitus patient.
NCBI PD link for serovar Sandiego: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pathogens/isolates/#(taxgroup_name:%22Salmonella%20enterica%22)%20AND%20computed_types:(%22serotype=Sandiego%22)
Animal reservoir: Serovar Sandiego has been found in small turtles and their environments, and also found in turkey flocks.
Geographical distribution: Serovar Sandiego has been found in the United States and Canada, and, reportedly, also in Uruguay, Denmark, and Brazil.
Outbreaks: Several outbreaks have been associated with S. Sandiego, mostly associated with small pet turtles. There was a report on an outbreak of food poisoning with approximately 200 cases in California in 1938. Two isolates of Salmonella Sandiego were obtained from this outbreak.
| Year | Location | Associated Source | Number of Cases |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | US-multistate | Spring Pasta Salad | 101 |
| 2015 | US-multistate | Pet turtles | 17 |
| 2015 | US-multistate | Pet turtles | 21 |
| 2012-2013 | US-multistate | Pet turtles | 473 |
Border Rejections: Multiple border rejections associated with serovar Sandiego have been reported during August 2020 to December 2021 and they were all linked to black pepper imported from Brazil to Germany. Some border rejections were linked to multiple serotypes.
Year | Exporting country | Importing country | Associated source | Product category |
| 2023 | Spain | Italy | Frozen turkey breast | Poultry meat and poultry meat products |
| 2022 | Poland | Italy | Minced frozen poultry meat1 | Poultry meat and poultry meat products |
2021 | Brazil | German | Herbs and spices | |
2020 | Brazil | German | Black pepper3 | Herbs and spices |
1 Salmonella Sandiego and Kedougou were found.
2 Salmonella Sandiego, Poona, Newport, Kiambu, Freetown, and Rubislaw were found.
3 Salmonella Sandiego and Abaetetuba were found.
Recalls: There have been no recent recalls linked to this serovar.
| Year | Location | Recalled food | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | US: multistate | Spring pasta salad1 | Food |
1 This recall was caused by multistate human outbreak linked to Salmonella Sandiego and Salmonella enterica subspecies IIIb, linked to ready-to-eat Spring Pasta Salad from Hy-Vee brand grocery stores.
Relevant links and references:
- http://www.cdc.gov/salmonella/small-turtles-10-15/index.html
- http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2013/02/more-salmonella-infections-tied-to-tiny-turtles/#.V0C2kkY5X4Y
- http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1821928/
- https://doi.org/10.1111/zph.13174
- https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/epdf/10.1089/10766290260469697
- https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5249a3.htm