Background: Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium DT8 is uncommon within the European Union. An increase in this phage type was reported in the summer of 2013 in the States of Jersey. Methods: A total of 21 human cases with this phage type were microbiologically confirmed. Salmonella isolates from mayonnaise made using raw eggs were also confirmed as being Salmonella Typhimurium DT8. The epidemiological investigations strongly supported a link between mayonnaise consumption and illness. Whole genome sequencing (WGS) was used to retrospectively investigate this outbreak with a view to assess the similarity between the suspect food and the human isolates and to characterise a known point source outbreak to assist in development of algorithms for outbreak detection. Results: Sequence data showed that the outbreak associated isolates, including the food isolates, formed a tightly clustered monophyletic group, with a maximum pairwise distance of 3 single nucleotide polymorphisms. Conclusions: WGS data is useful in confirming the causative agent of outbreaks where food and clinical isolates are available. This dataset, comprising a known outbreak, will be useful in the development of automatic algorithms for outbreak detection.
UNLABELLED: For 100 years, it has been obvious that Salmonella enterica strains sharing the serotype with the formula 1,4,[5],12:b:1,2-now known as Paratyphi B-can cause diseases ranging from serious systemic infections to self-limiting gastroenteritis. Despite considerable predicted diversity between strains carrying the common Paratyphi B serotype, there remain few methods that subdivide the group into groups that are congruent with their disease phenotypes. Paratyphi B therefore represents one of the canonical examples in Salmonella where serotyping combined with classical microbiological tests fails to provide clinically informative information. Here, we use genomics to provide the first high-resolution view of this serotype, placing it into a wider genomic context of the Salmonella enterica species. These analyses reveal why it has been impossible to subdivide this serotype based upon phenotypic and limited molecular approaches. By examining the genomic data in detail, we are able to identify common features that correlate with strains of clinical importance. The results presented here provide new diagnostic targets, as well as posing important new questions about the basis for the invasive disease phenotype observed in a subset of strains. IMPORTANCE: Salmonella enterica strains carrying the serotype Paratyphi B have long been known to possess Jekyll and Hyde characteristics; some cause gastroenteritis, while others cause serious invasive disease. Understanding what makes up the population of strains carrying this serotype, as well as the source of their invasive disease, is a 100-year-old puzzle that we address here using genomics. Our analysis provides the first high-resolution view of this serotype, placing strains carrying serotype Paratyphi B into the wider genomic context of the Salmonella enterica species. This work reveals a history of disease dating back to the middle ages, caused by a group of distinct lineages with various abilities to cause invasive disease. By quantifying the key genomic differences between the invasive and noninvasive populations, we are able to identify key virulence-related targets that can form the basis of simple, rapid, point-of-care tests. ; This work, including the efforts of Thomas R. Connor, Gemma Langridge, Theresa Feltwell, Julian Parkhill, and Nicholas Thomson, was funded by Wellcome Trust (098051). This work, including the efforts of Thomas R. Connor, was funded by Medical Research Council (MRC) (MR/L015080/1). F.-X.W. and S.L. are funded by the Institut Pasteur, the Institut de Veille Sanitaire, and the French Government's Investissement d'Avenir program Integrative Biology of Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratory of Excellence (grant number ANR-10-LABX-62-IBEID). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and interpretation, or the decision to submit the work for publication ; Sí
