Outbreak of Salmonella enterica serotype Muenster infections associated with goat's cheese, France, March 2008

Salmonella enterica serotype Muenster (hereafter referred to as S. Muenster) is rare in France and in Europe. In France, a nationwide outbreak of gastrointestinal illness due to S. Muenster occurred during March and April 2008. Twenty-five laboratory-confirmed cases of S. Muenster were documented by telephone using a trawling questionnaire. Four patients were admitted to hospital and no death was recorded. Among the 21 interviewed cases, 16 reported consumption of goat's cheese in the days prior to symptoms. The investigation incriminated goat's cheese from producer X as being the most likely source of the outbreak. S. Muenster was isolated from both cases and the incriminated goat's cheese. The pulsed-field gel electrophoresis profiles of the food isolates of producer X and the isolates from cases were indistinguishable. Following the withdrawal of the contaminated batch of cheese, the number of cases decreased to its usual level. To our knowledge, this is the first published outbreak of S. Muenster associated with food consumption in Europe.