Norway links 72 Salmonella cases to Spanish cucumber batches

The FHI assured that the link between the “salmonella agona” cases detected in the country and the cucumbers had been identified. proven in research He noted that there were cases of the same species responsible for their services and those in the Netherlands and Sweden.

“In recent weeks, no new cases of disease have been reported, which could indicate that the contaminated product is no longer on the market,” said the Norwegian official.

As it is no longer available on the Norwegian market, FHI officials were unable to test the product “for epidemic bacteria”.It’s on the organization’s website, according to Heidi Lange, the organization’s principal advisor.

A total of 72 cases have been identified, and the FHI states that all of these people “had salmonellosis in a short period of time.”From late October to early December, peaking at the 45th and 46th weeks.

The institute says it is conducting a case-control study comparing what the infected ate with what other randomly selected people ate. “About 90 percent of those infected reported eating cucumbers in the week before they became ill,” the FHI said.

The outbreak investigation was conducted in collaboration with local municipal chief health officials, the Norwegian Food Safety Authority and the Veterinary Institute.

The FHI reports that “salmonella agona” is a rare salmonella serovariant in both Norway and the rest of Europe, and has been previously detected in this Scandinavian country “but only as isolated cases and often associated with infections abroad”.

Spain says no approval

The Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition (Aesan) assured that there was no confirmation it requested. Use common sense not to raise alarms.

agency resources,Information on the possible Spanish origin of these foods has not been confirmed, After the Norwegian Food Safety Authority (FHI) linked an outbreak of salmonella that affected 72 people in that country since last October to consumption of cucumbers originating in Spain.

According to Aesan, information reported by Norway through the European Union’s Rapid Alert System (Rasff) not conclusive or sufficiently verifiedIn other words, the epidemic may be caused by another food.

Because it is no longer on the Norwegian market, FHI officials, who attributed the outbreak to Spanish cucumbers, were unable to test the product “to detect bacteria in the outbreak,” according to Heidi Lange, the agency’s senior adviser. on the organization’s website.

The Spanish agency contacted the Warning and Emergency Coordination Center and regional authorities to have a traceability analysis done in case of a food of Spanish origin.