Following an outbreak of Salmonella Dublin in France attributed to Morbier cheese produced from raw milk by Jean Perrin SA., authorities in Sweden have identified the same strain from patients in that nation. The EU Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed confirmed that the now-recalled product was distributed to Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

Recognition of outbreaks and attribution to source is now facilitated by routine application of whole genome sequencing.  In addition to the EU network, the International Food Safety Authorities Network (INFOSAN) publicizes recalls associated with food products.  In the case of the implicated Morbier cheese, Japan also received a notification.

Cases in France involved 13 confirmed diagnoses in seven regions with nine patients requiring hospitalization with three fatalities.

This outbreak illustrates the benefits of databases and the application of whole genome sequencing to support epidemiological investigations and traceback involving trans-boundry distribution of contaminated products.