S. Sandiego¶

At a Glance


Antigenic Formula	`1,4,[5],12:e,h:e,n,z15`
Serogroup	O:4 (B)
NCBI Pathogen Detection	View isolates

Background Information¶

Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Sandiego (antigenic formula 1,4,[5],12:e,h:e,n,z₁₅) is a serovar of the O:4 (B) serogroup. Serovar Sandiego oldest verified isolation was in 1929 in Denmark. It was in the top 15 most commonly reported Salmonella enterica serovars related to animal contact outbreaks in the United States during 2009–2014. This serovar was also isolated from turkey-processing plants in the USA in the 1960's. and pig farm environment in Brazil. Although there has been a limited number of research on Salmonella Sandiego, human infections caused by Salmonella Sandiego have been reported, such as a post-traumatic chronic subdural haematoma in an alcoholic heavy drinker patient, and a prevertebral neck abscess in a type 2 diabetes mellitus patient.

Genetic Characteristics¶

Serovar Sandiego has been found to be polyphyletic with two lineages identified. Few studies have examined serovar Sandiego, and none have investigated its genetics.

Animal Reservoir¶

Serovar Sandiego has been found in small turtles and their environments, and also found in turkey flocks.

Geographical Distribution¶

Serovar Sandiego has been found in the United States and Canada, and, reportedly, also in Uruguay, Denmark, and Brazil.

Human/Animal Outbreaks¶

Several outbreaks have been associated with S. Sandiego, mostly associated with small pet turtles. There was a report on an outbreak of food poisoning with approximately 200 cases in California in 1938. Two isolates of Salmonella Sandiego were obtained from this outbreak.

Year	Location	Associated source	Number of cases
2018	US-multistate	Spring Pasta Salad	101
2015	US-multistate	Pet turtles	17
2015	US-multistate	Pet turtles	21
2012-2013	US-multistate	Pet turtles	473

Border Rejections¶

Multiple border rejections associated with serovar Sandiego have been reported during August 2020 to December 2021 and they were all linked to black pepper imported from Brazil to Germany. Some border rejections were linked to multiple serotypes.

Year	Exporting country	Importing country	Associated source	Product category
2023	Spain	Italy	Frozen turkey breast	Poultry meat and poultry meat products
2022	Poland	Italy	Minced frozen poultry meat¹	Poultry meat and poultry meat products
2021	Brazil	German	Black pepper²	Herbs and spices
2020	Brazil	German	Black pepper³	Herbs and spices

¹ Salmonella Sandiego and Kedougou were found.

² Salmonella Sandiego, Poona, Newport, Kiambu, Freetown, and Rubislaw were found.

³ Salmonella Sandiego and Abaetetuba were found.

Recalls¶

There have been no recent recalls linked to this serovar.

Year	Location	Recalled food	Type
2018	US: multistate	Spring pasta salad¹	Food

¹ This recall was caused by multistate human outbreak linked to Salmonella Sandiego and Salmonella enterica subspecies IIIb, linked to ready-to-eat Spring Pasta Salad from Hy-Vee brand grocery stores.