Investigation of Outbreak of Human Infections Caused by Salmonella I,4,[5],12:i

CDC is collaborating with public health officials in multiple states across the United States and with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service to investigate an ongoing multi-state outbreak of Salmonella I,4,[5],12:i:- (pronounced “four five twelve eye minus”) infections in humans. An investigation that used interviews comparing foods eaten by ill and well persons is showing that eating Banquet brand pot pies produced by the ConAgra Foods company is the likely source of the illness.

Between January 1, 2007 and October 9, 2007, at least 139 isolates of Salmonella I,4,[5],12:i:- with an indistinguishable genetic fingerprint have been collected from ill persons in 30 states. Ill persons whose Salmonella strain has this genetic fingerprint have been reported from Arizona (1 person), California (5), Connecticut (3), Delaware (5), Georgia (2), Idaho (2), Illinois (3), Indiana (3), Kansas (2), Kentucky (7), Massachusetts (5), Maryland (5), Maine (1), Minnesota (5), Missouri (11), Montana (4), Nevada (6), New York (6), Ohio (6), Oklahoma (1), Oregon (2), Pennsylvania (13), Tennessee (5), Texas (4), Utah (2), Virginia (6), Vermont (2), Washington (1), Wisconsin (19), Wyoming (2). Their ages range from <1 to 87 years with a median age of 20 years; 49% of ill persons are female. At least 20 people have been hospitalized. No deaths have been reported.

Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar 4,[5],12:i:-

Salmonella serotype I 4,[5],12:i:- was first identified in the U.S. in 1998 and became the 14th most common serotype recovered from human illness in 2002. In 1998, this was the 4th most commonly identified serotype in Spain. Pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) patterns for most I 4,[5],12:i:- isolates suggests evolutionary links with S. Typhimurium. Analysis of this related genovar of increasing health importance can help uncover evolutionary aspects of the S. Typhimurium complex, the most common Salmonella pathogen.