The United Kingdom has reported 24 cases of Salmonella linked to travel on cruise ships.
Salmonella Enteritidis cases are from cruise ships visiting destinations in the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East. The outbreak was detected through whole genome sequencing (WGS) analysis. They have sampling dates from May 6 to 21, 2019. Five other cases have sample dates ranging from 2014 to 2018.
Of the 24 cases in 2019, 12 are female and the median age is 64 years with a range of 40 to 84 years old. The most commonly reported cruise ship destinations are Croatia, Corfu, Greece, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Montenegro and Oman.
A total of 717 Salmonella infections were reported from April 29 to June 2 in England and Wales compared to 367 from April 1 to 28, according to Public Health England figures.
Investigations to date indicate there is more than one cruise holiday associated with the outbreak. Patients for whom information is available said they ate all meals on the cruise ship with many spending the entire incubation period on board.
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