A rare strain of Salmonella, Salmonella Overschie, caused a December 2013 outbreak in Oregon. Two people have been sickened by the strain which has never before been seen in Oregon and is typically seen less than four times a year nationwide.
The two cases are in Lane and Coos counties, which do not border one another. Both case patients are female one is a child between the ages of 0 to 9 years old and the other is a women between the ages of 20 to 29. Their exposures seem to have been within 24 hours of each other, but onset of symptoms was eight days apart.
Pulsed field gel electrophoresis tests show the isolates from the two patients are a 99 percent match. No other matches have been identified anywhere in the U.S. This indicates the two patients were sickened by the same source.
Possible food sources include nuts, cereal, leafy greens, raw salsa, dog food and travel. An analysis of exposures was inconclusive, Oregon health authorities say.
Because there was not enough information to narrow down the multiple common exposures, no food receipts or shopping card data, it wasn’t possible to test suspected foods and sas no new cases have been reported since mid-December, the investigation into the outbreak has concluded, Oregon health officials said.
