Almost 250 Salmonella infections in the United Kingdom since the start of 2023 have been linked to travel to Turkey.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has shared steps to reduce the risk of common infections when going abroad in summer.
The agency has detected a number of clusters of gastrointestinal illness in people returning from Turkey, the majority of whom had been to the Antalya region. Whole genome sequencing (WGS) has revealed some clusters are related, which indicates a likely common source of infection.
Between mid-January and July 19, there have been 241 confirmed cases of Salmonella Enteritidis, the majority with specimen collection dates from April onward.
Fifty-six percent of cases are male and the median age is 29 years old. Of the 93 cases for which travel information is available, people reported staying in different hotels in Turkey and most ate a variety of foods at their hotel resort as part of an all-inclusive holiday package.
UKHSA issued a warning ahead of the school summer holidays as the source of illness has not been identified. UKHSA, Turkish health authorities and other international public health agencies are involved in ongoing investigations.
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