Salmonella Altona

Background: Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Altona (antigenic formula: 8,20:r,[i]:z₆) is a serovar of the O:8 (C₂-C₃) serogroup. This serovar was first isolated from fish meal in Germany in 1958.

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

Genetic characteristics: Serovar Altona has been found to be polyphyletic with three lineages identified.

Animal reservoir: Serovar Altona was mainly found in chickens but was also present in cattle, pigs, and horses.

Geographical distribution: Serovar Altona has been reported worldwide such as the US and the UK.

Human outbreaks:

Year	Location	Associated source	Number of cases
2024	US: multistate	Backyard poultry	470¹
2019	US: multistate	Backyard poultry	1,134²
2011	US: multistate	Chicks and ducklings	96³

¹ The outbreak was initially associated with five Salmonella serovars: Altona, Indiana, Infantis, Mbandaka, and Typhimurium. The CDC indicated that two more-Cerro and Johannesburg-have been implicated in the illnesses.

² Multiple Salmonella serovars were found including: Agona, Alachua, Altona, Anatum, Braenderup, Enteritidis, Infantis, Manhattan, Montevideo, Muenchen, Newport, and Oranienburg.

³A cluster of 28 cases caused by serovar Johannesburg and a cluster of 68 cases caused by serovar Altona were identified in 24 states.

Border rejections:

Year	Exporting country	Importing country	Associated source	Product category
2023	Germany	Finland	Rape seed meal	Feed materials

Recalls: There have been no recent recalls linked to this serovar.

Relevant links:

Page tree

Salmonella Altona