A multi-country Salmonella outbreak in Europe linked to tomatoes from Italy has sickened more than 250 people. From January 2023 to November 2024, 266 confirmed cases of Salmonella Strathcona have been identified in 16 European countries and the United Kingdom. Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Sweden have also reported Salmonella Strathcona sequence type (ST) 2559 infections.
Among 197 cases with age and gender data available, females were more affected than males. An assessment by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) said tomatoes were the vehicle of infection in several national epidemiological investigations undertaken in response to the multi-country outbreak. Italy has the most cases, with 67, followed by Germany with 62, Austria with 33, and France with 23.
There are 29 infections in the UK, and Canada reported five cases among travelers to Europe in 2023 and 2024. Italian situation From late September to early October 2024, Tuscany and Umbria in Italy reported Salmonella outbreaks with 46 Salmonella Strathcona cases and nine Salmonella Strathcona ST2559 clinical isolates currently confirmed. In the Tuscany region, 248 cases of gastroenteritis, 93 confirmed as salmonellosis and 14 as Salmonella Strathcona, affecting 240 children aged 1 to 10, seven food workers, and one teacher in 39 schools, were identified,.
