Multistate Outbreak of Salmonella Montevideo Infections Linked to Raw

Sprouts (Final Update)

Salmonella Infections Linked to Raw Sprouts en Español

Advice to Consumers, Restaurants, and RetailersCase Count Maps
Epi CurvesSigns & SymptomsKey Resources

Posted February 28, 2018 4:00 PM ET

This outbreak appears to be over. Regardless of where they are served or sold, raw and lightly cooked
sprouts are a known source of foodborne illness. CDC recommends that consumers, restaurants, and other
retailers always follow food safety practices to avoid illness from eating sprouts.

Highlights

Read the Advice to Consumers, Restaurants, and Retailers>>

CDC, public health and regulatory officials in several states, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
investigated a multistate outbreak of Salmonella Montevideo infections.
Ten people infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Montevideo were reported from three states.
No hospitalizations and no deaths were reported.
Epidemiologic evidence indicated that raw sprouts were the likely source of this multistate outbreak.
Ill people in this outbreak reported eating raw sprouts on sandwiches served at Jimmy John’s
restaurants in Illinois and Wisconsin.
One ill person in this outbreak reported eating raw sprouts purchased from a grocery store in
Minnesota.
This outbreak appears to be over. Any contaminated sprouts that made people sick in this outbreak
would now be older than their recommended shelf life. FDA and state, and local regulatory officials
conducted traceback investigations to help determine the source of the sprouts and their distribution
chain. To date, no contamination source has been identified.
Raw and lightly cooked sprouts are a known source of foodborne illness. CDC recommends that
consumers, restaurants, and other retailers always follow food safety practices to avoid illness from
eating sprouts.

Outbreak Summary

February 28, 2018

CDC, public health and regulatory officials in several states, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
(https://www.fda.gov/Food/RecallsOutbreaksEmergencies/Outbreaks/ucm593082.htm) (FDA)
investigated a multistate outbreak of Salmonella Montevideo infections.

Public health investigators used the PulseNet system to identify illnesses that may be part of this outbreak.
PulseNet is the national subtyping network of public health and food regulatory agency laboratories
coordinated by CDC. DNA fingerprinting was performed on Salmonella bacteria isolated from ill people by
using techniques called pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and whole genome sequencing (WGS). CDC
PulseNet manages a national database of these DNA fingerprints to identify possible outbreaks. WGS gives
a more detailed DNA fingerprint than PFGE.

As of February 27, 2018, 10 people infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Montevideo were
reported from 3 states. A list of the states and the number of cases in each can be found on the Case Count
Map page. WGS showed that isolates from ill people were closely relatedly genetically. This means that
people in this outbreak were more likely to share a common source of infection.

Illnesses started on dates ranging from December 20, 2017 to January 28, 2018. Ill people ranged in age
from 26 to 56, with a median age of 42. All 10 (100%) were female. No hospitalizations and no deaths were
reported.

This outbreak can be illustrated with a chart showing the number of people who became ill each day. This
chart is called an epidemic curve, or epi curve.

Testing of outbreak isolates using standard antibiotic susceptibility testing methods by CDC’s National
Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS) laboratory revealed one isolate with no antibiotic
resistance and one isolate with resistance to streptomycin, an antibiotic which is not commonly used to
treat patients with Salmonella infections.

Investigation of the Outbreak

Epidemiologic evidence indicated that raw sprouts were the likely source of this multistate outbreak.

In interviews, ill people answered questions about the foods they ate and other exposures in the week
before they became ill. Eight (80%) of ten people interviewed reported eating at multiple Jimmy John’s
restaurant locations. Of these eight people, all eight (100%) reported eating raw sprouts on a sandwich
from Jimmy John’s in Illinois and Wisconsin. This proportion is significantly higher than results from a
survey [PDF – 29 pages] of healthy people, in which 3% reported eating sprouts on a sandwich in the week

before they were interviewed. Two ill people in Wisconsin ate at a single Jimmy John’s location in that
state. One ill person reported eating raw sprouts purchased from a grocery store in Minnesota.

This outbreak appears to be over. Any contaminated sprouts that made people sick in this outbreak would
now be older than their recommended shelf life. FDA and state, and local regulatory officials conducted
traceback investigations to help determine the source of the sprouts and their distribution chain. To date,
no contamination source has been identified.

Regardless of where they are served or sold, raw and lightly cooked sprouts are a known source of
foodborne illness (https://www.foodsafety.gov/keep/types/fruits/sprouts.html) and outbreaks. People
who choose to eat sprouts should cook them thoroughly to reduce the risk of illness.
Previous Outbreak Announcements

 Initial Announcement

At A Glance

Case Count: 10
States: 3
Deaths: 0
Hospitalizations: 0
Recall: No

More Information

Advice to Consumers, Restaurants, and Retailers

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Related Links

Multistate Foodborne Outbreaks

Gastrointestinal (Enteric) Diseases from Animals
Division of Foodborne, Waterborne, and Environmental Diseases
Foodborne Illness A-Z
Estimates of Foodborne Illness
Foodsafety.gov (http://www.foodsafety.gov)
Report a Foodborne Illness
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) (http://www.fda.gov)
USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (http://www.fsis.usda.gov/)

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Page last reviewed: January 19, 2018

Page last updated: February 28, 2018
Content source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (http://www.cdc.gov/)
National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID) (/ncezid/index.html)
Division of Foodborne, Waterborne, and Environmental Diseases (DFWED) (/ncezid/dfwed/index.html)