S. Umbilo¶

At a Glance


Antigenic Formula	`28:z10:e,n,x`
Serogroup	O:28 (M)
NCBI Pathogen Detection	View isolates

Background Information¶

Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Umbilo (antigenic formula 28:z₁₀:e,n,x) is a serovar of the O:28 (M) serogroup. Serovar Umbilo is typically rare, with the ECDC recording 20 to 32 cases annually in the European Union/European Economic Area (including the United Kingdom until 2019) over the past decade (2014−2023). Public Health England found this serovar in curry leaves. In 2001, serovar Umbilo was found in organic rocket salad and pre-packaged ready-to-eat saladsfrom an Italian producer in the UK, though it was not associated with any human infections.

Genetic Characteristics¶

Through investigating the ongoing Umbilo outbreak which was described below, Rosner et al. found that clinical isolates from Denmark, Germany, and Austria were genetically similar, with a maximum pairwise distance of 4 allelic difference (AD) and a maximum distance of 2 AD from the reference sequence. Umbilo isolates that had a difference of more than 5 AD from the reference strain of the outbreak were not associated with the outbreak.

Animal Reservoir¶

Serovar Umbilo was found in sheep, field lizards, and badgers.

Geographical Distribution¶

Serovar Umbilo has been reported in Turkey, the US, South Africa, Kenya andEuropesuch as Denmark, Austria, Croatia, and Germany.

Human/Animal Outbreaks¶

Year	Location	Associated source	Number of cases
2024	Europe: multi-country	Rocket salad (also known as arugula or rucola) from Italy	158¹

¹158 cases of serovar Umbilo have been reported across 3 EU/EEA countries. The cases were distributed as follows: Germany (117), Denmark (22), and Austria (19). Through EpiPulse, six other European countries each reported between one and 20 cases of serovar Umbilo.

Border Rejections¶

Year	Exporting country	Importing country	Associated source	Product category
2024	Italy	Germany	Organic leaf spinach	Fruits and vegetables

Recalls¶

There have been no recent recalls linked to this serovar.