Listeria (10/21/2021) Between January 2020 and September 2021, four persons in three states became ill with the Listeria strain L. monocytogenes Sg IIa/ST511/CT4383. All individuals suffered from underlying illnesses and required hospitalization, and one individual died. Currently, there is no indication of the source of the outbreak.

Surveys to date (temporally clustered occurrence, this identical strain of Listeria was detected in all outbreak cases) indicate a foodborne event across the federal states.

The Federal Ministry for Social Affairs, Health, Care and Consumer Protection (BMSGPK) has therefore commissioned AGES to clarify this suspicion. The clarification of this suspicion is carried out in close cooperation between AGES, BMSGPK and the respective competent provincial authorities.

Salmonella (21.07.2021) Since mid-March, more than 300 people in almost 20 countries, mainly in the EU but also in the USA and Canada, have been infected with the bacterium Salmonella Braenderup. From the beginning, the consumption of melons was suspected as the source of infection.

In Austria, the AGES Reference Center for Salmonella in Graz was able to assign eleven cases (seven of them hospitalized) from six provinces to the outbreak strain (S. Braenderup ST22 CT 8229) by means of sequencing (as of July 20). In addition, the outbreak strain was detected in a pooled sample (swabs from Galia, Canteloupe, and Honey melons). The outbreak clarification was carried out by AGES in close cooperation with the Federal Ministry of Social Affairs, Health, Care and Consumer Protection and the health and food authorities of the affected countries.

Galia melons, a type of sugar melon, from Honduras were identified as the foodstuff that probably caused the outbreak. These melons are no longer available on the Austrian and European markets.

Verotoxin-forming E.coli (02.02.2021) Between September and December 2020, six persons in five provinces became ill with VTEC strain O146:H28 (VTEC = verotoxin-forming Escherichia coli), two persons had to be treated in hospital. Currently, there is no indication of the source of the outbreak. The temporally clustered occurrence of this VTEC strain indicates a foodborne event across the federal states.

The Federal Ministry for Social Affairs, Health, Care and Consumer Protection (BMSGPK) has therefore commissioned AGES to clarify this suspicion. The clarification of this suspicion is carried out in close cooperation between AGES, BMSGPK and the respective competent provincial authorities.

Listeria (03.12.2020) Since November 2020, two people in Austria have contracted a new strain of Listeria. In recent weeks, this Listeria strain has also been detected in 18 persons in Germany and in one person in Denmark. The temporally clustered occurrence of a "new" Listeria strain with illnesses in Germany, Austria and Denmark indicates a foodborne disease outbreak.

The clarification of this food-borne outbreak is being carried out in close cooperation between AGES, BMSGPK and the respective competent state authorities. Initial investigations point with a high degree of probability to a specific food product from a Danish manufacturer: The German authorities informed the Member States via the European Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) on December 2, 2020, that Listeria had been detected in said food.

The food in question is the product "NAUTICA ASC SMOKED FORELLE FILETS, 125g" from the Danish manufacturer Agustson a/s. Lidl Austria has initiated a product recall of the product on 04.12.2020.

On behalf of the BMSGPK, AGES recommends that any affected products still present in private households should not be consumed under any circumstances.

AGES clarifies suspected foodborne outbreak Since the beginning of 2020, three people in Styria have fallen ill with an identical strain of Listeria (Listeria monocytogenes CT5102, ST520). As these cases are relatively close in time, a foodborne outbreak cannot be excluded. AGES was therefore commissioned by the Province of Styria to clarify this suspicion.

Currently, there is no indication of the source of the outbreak. The clarification is being carried out in close cooperation between AGES, the health authority of the province of Styria and the Ministry of Health.

Listeria outbreak clarified Between May 24 and August 8, 2019, six people in Austria contracted an identical strain of Listeria (Listeria monocytogenes IIa, MLST-ST155 cgMLST-CT1234) (one death). The temporally clustered occurrence of three illnesses in three provinces (Carinthia, Styria, Vienna) at that time already indicated a foodborne disease outbreak across the provinces on July 11. The Federal Ministry of Social Affairs, Health, Care and Consumer Protection (BMSGPK) commissioned AGES to clarify this suspicion.

As of November 7, 2019, the clarification was completed by AGES: Although it was not possible to prove the source of infection beyond doubt, epidemiological evidence points to a meanwhile closed German meat product producer as the source of infection. The fact that no further illnesses occurred in Austria after the closure of the German production plant underlines the hypothesis of AGES.

Foodborne outbreak caused by salmonella has been clarified The foodborne outbreak caused by salmonella across several federal states has been clarified: investigations by AGES have shown that the source of the outbreak is eggs from caged hens produced by a Polish producer. People affected by the outbreak are in the provinces of Styria, Lower Austria, Vienna, Burgenland, Tyrol, Carinthia, Upper Austria and Salzburg.

The food inspectorates of the provinces have withdrawn the eggs still in circulation from circulation or the affected eggs have been recalled by Austrian wholesalers and blocked or destroyed. The eggs were not available for retail sale in Austria. Furthermore, the results of the clarification in Austria were transmitted to the EU member states via rapid alert systems in the food and human health sectors in order to identify possible further cases of the disease in other EU states and to take equally rapid measures there to eliminate the source and prevent further illnesses.

The clarification of this foodborne disease outbreak was carried out in close cooperation between AGES, BMSGPK and the respective competent provincial authorities. Since mid-June, 304 people in Austria have contracted a specific strain of Salmonella (S. Enteritits with MLVA pattern 3-10-5-4-1).

Salmonella In Austria, a cluster of human illnesses caused by the pathogen Salmonella Mikawasima is evident in several provinces: in 2019, 13 cases were confirmed by AGES (National Reference Centre for Salmonella). No food has yet been identified as the source of the outbreak.

Since S. Mikawasima is a very rare serotype, the sudden cluster suggests foodborne transmission. AGES investigated this suspected cross-state foodborne outbreak in close cooperation with the Federal Ministry of Social Affairs, Health, Long-Term Care and Consumer Protection (BMSGPK) and state authorities. Molecular genetic subtyping of the bacteria substantiated two smaller localized outbreaks. As of Dec. 18, 2019, the outbreak investigation was terminated, and no further cases of illness had occurred.

VTEC Since April 2019, ten people have become ill with a strain of VTEC (VTEC = verotoxin-producing Escherichia coli) that had not previously occurred in Austria; two people had to be treated in hospital. The temporally clustered occurrence of this VTEC O157:H7 clone, which up to this point had not been found in humans, animals, or food, indicates a foodborne disease outbreak across the federal states. The Federal Ministry of Social Affairs, Health, Care and Consumer Protection (BMSGPK) therefore commissioned AGES to clarify this suspicion. Since no new case of the disease has been recorded since 29.09.2019, this outbreak seems to have spontaneously died out. Therefore, the outbreak clarification was terminated on 12/18/2019. Should further indications arise in the future, the outbreak clarification will be resumed.