Salmonella Saintpaul

Background: Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Saintpaul (antigenic formula 1,4,[5],12:e,h:1,2) is a serovar of the O:4 (B) serogroup.

Reports of S. Saintpaul have increased recently, these reports have found that turkeys and ground turkey are important sources of S. Saintpaul. In addition, in several countries, S. Saintpaul have caused large outbreaks associated with produce (e.g., cucumbers, alfalfa sprouts, peppers). In Germany, a clonal line with a multidrug resistant phenotype was found in turkeys and human feces. This strain showed resistance to β-lactam antibiotics, aminoglycosides, nalidixic acid, and sulfamethoxazole, along with intermediate resistance to ciprofloxacin and third-generation cephalosporins.

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

Genetic characteristics:

Animal reservoir: Serovar Saintpaul is found in turkeys, swine, and dogs.

Geographical distribution: This serovar is widely distributed. In the U.S. it ranks among the top 15 serovars causing human salmonellosis. In Oceania, this serovar is the fourth most common serovar in humans. In addition, S. Saintpaul is commonly reported in Europe and outbreaks have been linked to internationally imported food (e.g., from Mexico).

Human outbreaks: Multiple human outbreaks associated with serovar Saintpaul have been reported, linked to a variety of commodities. Below are some examples.

Year	Location	Associated source	Number of cases
2023	UK and Portugal	Cantaloupe melon	98 (93 in the UK and 5 in Portugal)
2016	US: Utah	Raw milk	9
2016	Australia	Mung bean sprouts	419
2013	US: multistate	Imported cucumber	84
2009	US: multistate	Raw alfalfa sprouts	235
2008	US: multistate & Canada	Jalapeño and serrano peppers from Mexico	1442
2006	Australia	Cantaloupe	115
1999	Australia	Drinking water	28
1993	Germany	Paprika & paprika-powdered potato chips¹	Estimated 1000

¹ Serovar Javiana and Rubislaw were also involved. The case number here does not reflect the total number of people only infected by Salmonella Saintpaul.

Border rejections: Multiple border rejections linked to serovar Saintpaul have been reported. A majority of these border rejections were associated with black pepper imported from Brazil to Germany and identified multiple Salmonella serovars including serovar Sainpaul. Below are some examples.

Year	Exporting country	Importing country	Associated source	Product category
2023	Vietnam	Italy	Frozen raw frog legs	Meat and meat products (other than poultry)
2021	Brazil	Germany	Black pepper¹	Herbs and spices
2020	Brazil	Germany	Black pepper²	Herbs and spices
2020	Brazil	Germany	Black pepper³	Herbs and spices
2020	Germany, Netherlands	Italy	Poultry and veal kebab⁴	Meat and meat products (other than poultry)

¹ Salmonella Poona, Javiana and Saintpaul were found.

² Salmonella Infantis, Freetown, Javiana, and Saintpaul were found.

³ Salmonella Saintpaul and Javiana were found.

⁴ Salmonella Derby and Saintpaul were found.

Recalls:

Year	Location	Recalled food	Type
2023	Spain	Fresh turkey meat	Poultry meat and poultry meat products
2008	US: multistate	Jalapeno peppers¹	Fruits and vegetables

¹ This recall was caused by a multistate outbreak described above. Agricola Zaragoza, Inc. of McAllen, TX issued a recall of their Jalapeno peppers.

Relevant links:

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Salmonella Saintpaul