Investigation of a prolonged nursery outbreak of Salmonella Poona in England identified using whole genome...

We describe a prolonged outbreak of Salmonella enterica serotype Poona (S. Poona) sequence type (ST) 308, which comprised 13 cases occurring intermittently in North West England between 2016 and 2021. Whole genome sequencing (WGS) results indicated potential exposure to a single source but a lack of good quality data from routine surveillance questionnaires initially made it challenging to identify the cause. Continuing identification of cases in young children in a small geographical area prompted further public health actions, including trawling interviews which identified that ten cases attended the same nursery. As part of enhanced case finding in this nursery, childcare staff were asked to submit faecal samples. One asymptomatic staff member was positive for S. Poona and had worked at another nursery, attended at the time by the first S. Poona child case in this outbreak. Further investigations revealed that the case had previously undergone a cholecystectomy. We report an outbreak caused by persistent carriage and shedding of S. Poona in an asymptomatic individual working with vulnerable groups, which necessitated introduction of risk management measures similar to that for Typhoidal Salmonella. We also demonstrate the utility of combining epidemiological and WGS data in the public health response to Salmonella outbreaks.