By NewsDesk  @infectiousdiseasenews

In a follow-up on the Yersinia enterocolitica O3 outbreak that started in mid-May in Norway, health officials are now saying based on an analysis of patient interviews and purchase information show that 22 of 23 cases (96%) state that they have eaten a pre-washed spinach product the week prior to illness. In one case, it has not been possible to conduct an interview.

Image/Jennifer Oosthuizen-CDC

“In collaboration with the Norwegian Food Safety Authority, we conducted interviews and obtained information from cash receipts to identify what the cases had eaten before they became ill. Based on this, we have found that pre-washed baby spinach and spinach prove to be a probable source of infection, but it has so far not been confirmed by microbiological findings in the product”, says doctor Hilde Marie Lund at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health.

To date, 23 cases have been reported. The cases reside in Agder (5 cases), Oslo (5 cases), Rogaland (5 cases), Trøndelag (4 cases), Viken (2 cases), Inland (1 case) and Nordland (1 case). There are 15 women and 8 men, and they are between 2 and 58 years (average age 32 years, median 28 years).

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