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. 2022 Nov;69(7):835-842.
doi: 10.1111/zph.12973. Epub 2022 Jul 3.

A multi-jurisdictional outbreak of Salmonella Typhimurium infections linked to backyard poultry-Australia, 2020

Troy A Laidlow  1   2 , Russell Stafford  3 , Amy V Jennison  4 , Robert Bell  3 , Rikki Graham  4 , Trudy Graham  4 , Natasha Musgrave  5 , Mark Myerson  5 , Nina Kung  6 , Allison Crook  6 , Qinning Wang  7 , Alun Richards  1 , Stephen B Lambert  1   2   8
Affiliations

A multi-jurisdictional outbreak of Salmonella Typhimurium infections linked to backyard poultry-Australia, 2020

Troy A Laidlow et al. Zoonoses Public Health. 2022 Nov.

Abstract

Zoonotic salmonellosis can occur either through direct contact with an infected animal or through indirect contact, such as exposure to an infected animal's contaminated environment. Between May and August 2020, a multi-jurisdictional outbreak of Salmonella Typhimurium (STm) infection due to zoonotic transmission was investigated in Australia. In total, 38 outbreak cases of STm with a median age of 5 years were reported. Epidemiological investigation showed contact with live poultry to be a common risk factor with most cases recently purchasing one-week old chicks from produce/pet stores. Traceback investigation of cases identified 25 product/pet stores of which 18 were linked to a single poultry breeder farm. On farm environmental sampling identified the same STm genotype as identified in cases. Whole genome sequencing of both environmental and human outbreak isolates found them to be highly related by phylogenetic analysis. This investigation describes the first documented widespread zoonotic salmonellosis outbreak in Australia attributed to backyard poultry exposure and identified potential risk factors and prevention and control measures for future outbreaks. Prevention of future outbreaks will require an integrated One Health approach involving the poultry industry, produce/pet store owners, animal healthcare providers, public health and veterinary health agencies and the public.

Keywords: Salmonella Typhimurium; backyard poultry; outbreak; salmonellosis; whole genome sequencing; zoonosis.

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Conflict of interest statement

No conflict of interest to declare.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Epidemic curve of STm cases by week of onset or specimen collection date by jurisdiction and MLVA type, 20 April to august 10, 2020 [n = 38]. Note: Specimen collection date was used as a proxy for three QLD cases with unknown onset dates of illness (29 may, 1 June, June 22, 2020)
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Maximum likelihood tree built using SNP differences. The cluster identified is highlighted in blue. Labels for environmental isolates are shown in purple and labels for clinical isolates are shown in black. The length of branches represents distance
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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