Government officials have just announced that another strain of Salmonella bacteria has been found in the raw scraped tuna product imported by Moon Marine USA Corporation. The product was recalled on April 13, 2012.
The serotype Salmonella Nchanga was found in one of the unopened samples of imported raw Nakaochi Scrape yellowfin tuna. A total of 10 people in 5 states have been infected with this outbreak strain. The bacteria found in the tuna had a PFGE pattern “indistinguishable from the cluster of Salmonella Nchanga infections.”
This bacteria is very rare in the United States. The illness onset dates for this outbreak ranged form February 19 to April 5, 2012. The ill persons are 17 to 86 years old; the median age is 33 years. Seventy-five percent of the patients are female. One person was hospitalized and no deaths have been reported.
The case count for this outbreak strain of Salmonella bacteria is:
- Georgia (2)
- New Jersey (1)
- New York (5)
- Virginia (1)
- Wisconsin (1)
Out of the 10 people sickened, five were interviewed. All five ate sushi in the week before they became ill. Four patients reported eating a specific type of sushi; 2 ate “spicy tuna”. These clues led the investigators to test the raw tuna for this bacteria.
Public health officials have combined the original investigation of the Salmonella Bareilly infections with the new Salmonella Nchanga infection investigation.
