Salmonella infection detected in five counties

Oslo 20171025. Fra området rundt Folkehelseinstituttet I Oslo. Foto: Terje Bendiksby / NTB scanpix

The Norwegian Institute of Public Health has discovered salmonella infection in nine people in five counties.

The patients are five men and four women aged 2 to 91 and reside in Oslo, Akershus, Buskerud, Rogaland and Vest-Agder, the Norwegian Institute of Public Health says.

The institute collaborates with the municipal health service, the Norwegian Food Safety Authority and the Norwegian Veterinary and Food Institute to map whether the patients have a common source of infection. An interview with the patients has been carried out, and samples of food and leftovers have been taken in hope of finding the source of infection.

According to the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, bacteria with the same DNA profile have been proven in all nine persons.

“It is too early to say whether this is a limited outbreak or whether it will increase in scope. We will follow the situation closely,” says senior advisor Heidi Lange at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health.

Salmonella is one of the most common causes of infectious gastrointestinal infection. The infection usually occurs from foods, and most often meat products are the cause. The most common symptoms are diarrhea, headache, abdominal pain, nausea and fever. The diarrhea can in rare cases be prolonged and severe.

Every year, between 900 and 1,300 cases are reported to the Norwegian Institute of Public Health.

© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today