Norway health officials are reporting (computer translated) investigating a Salmonella Agbeni outbreak affected nine people in five counties.

Norway/CIA
Norway/CIA

The cases were reported in January and February and affect five men and four women from Oslo, Akershus, Buskerud, Rogaland and Vest-Agder.

Bacteria with similar DNA profile have been detected in all nine persons.

To date, the source of the outbreak is unknown and health authorities are interviewing patients and sampling food to try to discover the outbreak source.

The Norwegian Institute of Public Health notes that the investigation work can be complicated and take time. In many cases, one will not be able to find the source of infection or to clarify whether it is a common source. It is too early to say whether this is a limited outbreak or whether it will increase in scope.

Healthy persons infected with Salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. In rare circumstances, infection with Salmonella can result in the organism getting into the bloodstream and producing more severe illnesses such as arterial infections (i.e., infected aneurysms), endocarditis and arthritis.

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