Over 300 salmonella cases in EU likely linked to chicken meat

COPENHAGEN - The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said Thursday that a salmonella outbreak linked to chicken meat has now hit 16 countries, reported dpa news.

The ECDC said there were 335 confirmed cases reported in 15 European countries, as well as the US between January and October 24.

In Germany, there have been a total of 18 cases this year, according to the assessment. A total of nine people in three countries had to be treated in hospital, and one person in Austria died as a result of the illness.

Chicken meat is considered the likely source of the outbreak, which includes three different types of Salmonella Enteritidis ST11, the Stockholm-based agency wrote in a joint assessment with the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).

The ECDC said in the statement that there would likely be more reported cases until the source was identified.

Bacteria similar to those that caused the outbreak had been found in samples of chicken meat and chicken kebabs, the two EU agencies said. The samples pointed to seven producers in Poland and one in Austria, but no microbiological evidence of contamination had been found in their production facilities, they said.-BERNAMA