2012 Salmonella Outbreak Associated with a Raw Scraped Ground Tuna Product – Timeline
Multistate Outbreak of Salmonella Bareilly and Salmonella Nchanga Infections Associated with a Raw Scraped Ground Tuna Product (Final Update)
Posted July 26, 2012 5:30 PM ET
This outbreak appears to be over. However, Salmonella is an important cause of human illness in the United States. More information about Salmonella, and steps people can take to reduce their risk of infection, can be found on the CDC Salmonella Web Page and the CDC Vital Signs Web Page.
Timeline PDF version [PDF – 1 page]
Outbreak Identification, Source Implication, Trackback and Regulatory Activities, and Results of Product Testing
March 1, 2012: NY State Department of Health notified CDC’s Outbreak Response Team (ORT) of a cluster of 4 ill persons infected with Salmonella Bareilly with the same unusual pulsed-field gel electrophoresis pattern.
March 2, 2012: PulseNet shows 11 persons in 7 states with the same pattern. CDC began coordinating a multistate investigation and held first multistate conference call.
March 8, 2012: Exposure information from 8 ill persons revealed that 7 reported eating seafood and 5 ate sushi in the week before becoming ill. TX Department of State Health Services reported first cluster of 2 unrelated ill persons who ate at the same Japanese steakhouse which serves sushi.
March 13, 2012: WI Department of Health Services (WDHS) reported a second cluster of unrelated ill persons eating at the same Japanese restaurant.
March 15, 2012: FDA began receiving supplier and invoice data collected by state and local departments of health and agriculture.
March 16, 2012: Preliminary information from 22 ill persons revealed that in the week before illness 80% reported eating seafood and 55% reported eating sushi. Among 8 ill persons who reported the type of sushi, all reported eating tuna. WDHS reported a third cluster of unrelated ill persons who ate sushi purchased from the same grocery store.
March 22, 2012: Among 19 ill persons who were asked detailed questions about eating sushi, 18 reported eating sushi in the week before illness and 80% of sushi eaters reported eating spicy tuna. CT Department of Public Health reported a fourth cluster of unrelated ill persons who ate sushi at the same restaurant. MD Department of Health and Mental Hygiene reported a fifth cluster of unrelated ill persons who ate sushi at the same restaurant.
March 27, 2012: Among 29 ill persons who were asked detailed questions about eating sushi, 90% reported eating sushi and 81% of sushi eaters reported eating spicy tuna.
March 29, 2012: Restaurant sushi order comparison study launched.
April 2, 2012: FDA activated an Incident Management Group and transferred Salmonella Bareilly response activities within the FDA Emergency Operations Center. CDC staff member joined FDA Team in Washington, DC.
April 4, 2012: CDC posted initial web announcement about investigation.
April 9, 2012: Preliminary results of restaurant comparison study from 4 restaurants show that the proportion of comparison sushi orders containing spicy tuna as an ingredient averaged 37% (ranging from 29% to 53%).
April 10, 2012: WDHS notified CDC’s ORT about 5 recent Salmonella Nchanga infections occurring in the same states as the Salmonella Bareilly cases. One ill person in WI had reported eating tuna sushi.
April 13, 2012: Moon Marine USA Corporation voluntarily recalled 3 production dates of frozen raw yellowfin tuna product, labeled as Nakaochi Scrape AA or AAA from a single tuna processing facility in India. CDC and FDA warned public not to eat recalled product.
April 13–14, 2012: FDA issued two Import Alerts for fresh and frozen tuna from Moon Fishery India Pvt Ltd.
April 19 – 24, 2012: FDA conducted a seafood Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point inspection at Moon Fishery Pvt Ltd. in India.
April 24, 2012: WDHS announced that the Department of Agriculture Trade and Consumer Protection laboratory had found Salmonella Bareilly contamination in recalled yellowfin tuna and in a spicy tuna roll made with the recalled tuna.
April 26, 2012: FDA announced finding the outbreak strains of Salmonella Bareilly and Salmonella Nchanga in unopened packages of yellowfin tuna product imported from Moon Marine USA Corporation.
