Salmonella I 4,[5],12:i:-

Background: Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar I 4,[5],12:i:- is a variant of Salmonella Typhimurium. S. I 4,[5],12:i:- is a monophasic serovar that lacks the second flagellar antigen (i.e., antigen 1,2 in serovar Typhimurium). This serovar emerged as a common serovar after 1990’s. Multiple reports and outbreaks linked to S. 4,5,12:i:- have occurred globally. Multidrug resistant (MDR) and pan-susceptible strains have been reported. MDR strains with the resistant patterns ACKGSuTm and ACSuGSTTm were reported in Thailand and Spain, respectively (abbrev: ampicillin (A), chloramphenicol (C), kanamycin (K), gentamicin (G) sulfamethoxazole (Su), trimethoprim (Tm), tetracycline (T), streptomycin (S)). Two clones with different gene deletions were identified, one in the US and one in Europe.

Animal reservoir: Chicken and swine are the major animal reservoirs of this serovar. It has also been found in dogs.

Geographical distribution: Global distribution, this serovar have been reported among the most common serovars in US, EU, and Thailand.

Human outbreaks: Multiple outbreaks have been associated with serovar I 4,[5],12:i:-. Here are some examples.

Year	Location	Associated source	Number of cases
2023	Canada: multistate	Raw pet food, cattle exposure	44
2022	Europe: multi-country	Chocolate	324
2018	US-multistate	Kosher Chicken Products	25
2010	US-multistate	Alfalfa Sprouts	140
2011-2012	US: multistate	Probably live-animal markets	>14
2010	US: multistate	Frozen rodents	34
2010	France	Dried pork sausage	69
2007	US: multistate	Pot pie	401

Border rejections: Multiple border rejections associated with serovar I 4,[5],12:i:- have been reported. Here are some examples.

Year	Exporting country	Importing country	Associated source	Product category
2025	Lithuania	Latvia	Pork meat preparation¹	Meat and meat products (other than poultry)
2024	Poland	Czech Republic	Minced mixed meat (pork and beef)	Meat and meat products (other than poultry)
2021	Spain	Italy	Live mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis)	Bivalve molluscs and products thereof

¹Monophasic Salmonella Typhimurium was detected in 1 out of 5 units. The product was presumably no longer on the market.

Recalls: Multiple recalls associated with serovar I 4,[5],12:i:- have been reported. Here are some examples.

Year	Location	Recalled food	Type
2023	Denmark	Pork minced meat¹	Meat and meat products (other than poultry)
2022	Europe: multi-country	Chocolate²	Confectionery
2021	France	Turkey meat and offals	Poultry meat and poultry meat products
2021	France	Chicken meat	Poultry meat and poultry meat products

¹ Recalled product name: Magre 80/20 de cerdo cong

² This recall was caused by monophasic Salmonella Typhimurium outbreak linked to chocolate products (Kinder branded chocolate produced by Ferrero). Several countries including Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, and the UK launched the recall.

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Salmonella I 4,[5],12:i:-