Folkhälsomyndigheten (Public Health Agency of Sweden) told us the first date of reported Salmonella Typhimurium illness was March 10 and the last known is April 10.
The link was made through interviews and a case-study based on trawling questionnaires, and through sampling of the sausage, said Linda Trönnberg, an epidemiologist at the agency.
“It is the possible source of infection. Since we haven’t found it in a closed package, we can’t say for sure. The possibly contaminated sausages are no longer on the market.”
Trönnberg said it has not had any new confirmed cases since the last lab results on 28 April but it was too early to say for sure that the outbreak had ended.
Tulip Picante Salami Sticks brand GØL is one of the products suspected as being the source and date codes 8-5-16 and 15-5-16 were recalled by the company.
Salmonella was detected in an opened package from the home of an ill person.
Figures from Folkhälsomyndigheten show 55 domestic Salmonella cases in April, compared to 51 in March, 58 from April 2015 and 34 from April 2014.
Denmark distribution and Norway warning
The 80g Tulip product was sold in Denmark were it has also been recalled.
Fødevarestyrelsen (The Danish Veterinary and Food Administration or DVFA) advised consumers to discard the product or take it back to the store where it was purchased.
DVFA confirmed that the products in question were distributed in the country.
“In Denmark, we are currently investigating if any cases of Salmonella can be related to the Swedish outbreak – including microbiological investigation of human samples and interviews with possible cases,” the agency told us.
”National outbreak investigation in Denmark is coordinated in the Central Outbreak Management Group by persons from the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration (DVFA), Statens Serum Institut (SSI) and the Food Institute at the Technical University of Denmark.”
The product was sold in Løvbjerg, KIWI, Letkøb, Liva Stormarked, MENY, Min Købmand, SPAR, Superland, Winther, Føtex, Salling, grocery stores and other individual shops and wholesalers.
Folkehelseinstituttet in Norway said there had been no registered cases in the country and according to the RASFF portal the product was not distributed to Norway.