S. Kiambu¶

At a Glance


Antigenic Formula	`1,4,12:z:1,5`
Serogroup	O:4 (B)
NCBI Pathogen Detection	View isolates

Background Information¶

Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Kiambu (antigenic formula 1,4,12:z:1,5) is a serovar of the O:4 (B) serogroup. Serovar Kiambu was found to be one of the most common Salmonella serovars in chicken in Ontario, Canada. More specifically, an Canadian study revealed that serovar Kiambu was the most commonly identified serovar throughCRISPR-SeroSeqand the third most frequently by culture in Ontario poultry farms. Interestingly, while previous studies on Ontario farms had rarely reported this serovar, these findings suggest that serovar Kiambu is an emerging but underreported serovar in Ontario's poultry production systems.

Genetic Characteristics¶

Serovar Kiambu has been found to be polyphyletic with one lineage identified and two stand-alone singletons that do not cluster with any other Salmonella Kiambu isolates. Two serovar Kiambu isolates were found to possess genomic island SGI1. SRC10 and SRC11 exhibited resistance to all antibiotics in the standard SGI1-containing DT104 set (Ap, Cm and Fl, Sm and Sp, Su, and Tc). These two isolates with two cassettes (aadA2 and blaP1) were additionally resistant to trimethoprim and also possessed dfrA10 and CR1.

Animal Reservoir¶

The reservoir for serovar Kiambu remains unknown, but chickensand cattle may be potential hosts. This serovar has also been isolated from other animals, including cattle and pigs.

Geographical Distribution¶

This serovar has been reported worldwide but is primarily found in North America, particularly in the US. Out of 1,024 serovar Kiambu isolates available in the NCBI Pathogen Database (accessed April 10, 2025), 835 were from the US.

Human/Animal Outbreaks¶

Year	Location	Associated source	Number of cases
2023	US: multistate	Dry dog food	7
2017	US: multistate	Maradol papayas imported from Mexico	220¹
2007	Australia	Unknown²	2

Year	Exporting country	Importing country	Associated source	Product category
2021	Brazil	Germany	Black pepper¹	Herbs and spices
2021	Brazil	Germany	Black pepper²	Herbs and spices
2020	Brazil	Germany	Black pepper	Herbs and spices

¹ Salmonella Rubislaw, Freetown, Kiambu, Newport, Poona and Sandiego O:5- were found.

² Salmonella Kiambu, Ealing, and Newport were found.

Recalls¶

Year	Location	Associated source	Type
2023	US: multistate	Dry dog food¹	Pet food

¹ This recall was resulted by a multistate outbreak described above. Multiple brands including Victor, Eagle Mountain, Wayne Feeds, and some Member's Mark varieties issued a recall.