<i>Salmonella</i> Hadar linked to two distinct transmission vehicles highlights challenges to enteric disease outbreak investigations

Abstract

In 2020, an outbreak of <i>Salmonella</i> Hadar illnesses was linked to contact with non-commercial, privately owned (backyard) poultry including live chickens, turkeys, and ducks, resulting in 848 illnesses. From late 2020 to 2021, this <i>Salmonella</i> Hadar strain caused an outbreak that was linked to ground turkey consumption. Core genome multilocus sequence typing (cgMLST) analysis determined that the <i>Salmonella</i> Hadar isolates detected during the outbreak linked to backyard poultry and the outbreak linked to ground turkey were closely related genetically (within 0-16 alleles). Epidemiological and traceback investigations were unable to determine how <i>Salmonella</i> Hadar detected in backyard poultry and ground turkey were linked, despite this genetic relatedness. Enhanced molecular characterization methods, such as analysis of the pangenome of <i>Salmonella</i> isolates, might be necessary to understand the relationship between these two outbreaks. Similarly, enhanced data collection during outbreak investigations and further research could potentially aid in determining whether these transmission vehicles are truly linked by a common source and what reservoirs exist across the poultry industries that allow <i>Salmonella</i> Hadar to persist. Further work combining epidemiological data collection, more detailed traceback information, and genomic analysis tools will be important for monitoring and investigating future enteric disease outbreaks.