Background: Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Urbana (antigenic formula 30:b:e,n,x) is a serovar of the O:30 (N) serogroup. Serovar Urbana has been reported to cause encephalopathy in a child in Japan. 

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

Genetic characteristics:

Animal reservoir: Unknown, but according to the metadata from NCBI PD, serovar Urbana was isolated from cattle, swine, and wild animals (lizards, central bearded dragon (Pogona vitticeps)).

Geographical distribution: According to the metadata from NCBI PD, serovar Urbana has been reported occasionally worldwide but mainly in US. The majority of serovar Urbana isolates originate from US (672 out of 817, accessed 06/03/25).

Human outbreaks:

YearLocationAssociated sourceNumber of cases
2020-2021US: multistateCashew brie120
2017US: multistateMaradol papaya7
2010Finland, the Czech
Republic and Latvia		Unknown14
1991ThailandContaminated wash basin in the labour nursery297

1 Four Salmonella serovars including Salmonella Chester, Duisburg, Typhimurium, and Urbana were involved in this outbreak. The case number does not reflect the number of infections linked to Salmonella Urbana only.

2 Among the infants infected, 57 developed gastrointestinal infections, 37 experienced diarrhea, and three had bacteremia.

Border rejections: There have been no recent border rejections linked to this serovar. 

Recalls:

YearLocationRecalled foodType
2021US: multistateCashew brie1Milk and milk products

1 The recall was caused by a multistate outbreak described above. On April 22, 2021, Jule’s Foods issued a recall of all their products, including their cashew brie.

Relevant links:

  1. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15212148/
  2. https://archive.cdc.gov/www_cdc_gov/salmonella/duisburg-04-21/details.html#:~:text=Public%20Health%20Actions,products%2C%20including%20their%20cashew%20brie.&text=Epidemiologic%2C%20laboratory%2C%20and%20traceback%20data%20show%20that%20Jule's%20cashew%20brie,infected%20with%20this%20outbreak%20strain.
  3. https://archive.cdc.gov/www_cdc_gov/salmonella/urbana-09-17/index.html
  4. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20338145/#:~:text=A%20cluster%20of%2014%20cases,under%2016%20years%20of%20age.
  5. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1680905/