The article describes an outbreak of Salmonella Agbeni infections in Norway from December 2018 to March 2019, linked to a commercial mix of dried exotic fruits. A total of 56 cases were reported, with 21 hospitalizations. The outbreak was traced back to a fruit mix that was packed in Italy and distributed to several European countries, including Norway. The investigation revealed that the fruit mix contained fruits from different countries and continents, and the outbreak strain was confirmed by whole genome sequencing. This incident highlights the potential risk of food-borne infections from dried fruits, especially in ready-to-eat products.
The investigation was carried out by a fellow of the training programme EUPHEM based in Norway. I was involved in planning and implementation of an epidemiological study. Unfortunately, the part I was involved in —the case control study— did not go according to plan and had to be stopped. However, the overall investigation was very successful, since it found a genetically identical Salmonella bacteria in both suspected food and in human cases.