An atlas of common Salmonella serotypes from routinely notified human cases in the Northern Territory of Australia, 2005–2024

Authors

  • Anthony DK Draper Centre for Disease Control, Northern Territory Government Department of Health, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia; National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, College of Law, Governance and Policy, Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia; Global and Tropical Health Division, Menzies School of Health Research, Charles Darwin University, Bidau Lecidere, Dili, Timor-Leste
  • Martyn D Kirk National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, College of Law, Governance and Policy, Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
  • Samantha Colquhoun National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, College of Law, Governance and Policy, Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
  • Kathryn Glass National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, College of Law, Governance and Policy, Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
  • Kelly Lomas Centre for Disease Control, Northern Territory Government Department of Health, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia
  • Kimberley McMahon Centre for Disease Control, Northern Territory Government Department of Health, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia
  • Joshua R Francis Global and Tropical Health Division, Menzies School of Health Research, Charles Darwin University, Bidau Lecidere, Dili, Timor-Leste; Department of Paediatrics, Royal Darwin Hospital, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia
  • Jennifer Yan Global and Tropical Health Division, Menzies School of Health Research, Charles Darwin University, Bidau Lecidere, Dili, Timor-Leste; Department of Paediatrics, Royal Darwin Hospital, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia
  • Vicki L Krause Centre for Disease Control, Northern Territory Government Department of Health, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.33321/cdi.2026.50.038

Keywords:

Salmonella, salmonellosis, Salmonella Saintpaul, Salmonella Virchow, Salmonella Hvittingfoss, Salmonella Ball, Salmonella Muenchen, foodborne disease, OzFoodNet, geographic information system (GIS) mapping

Abstract

Salmonella infections cost Australian society an estimated 140 million Australian Dollars (AUD) per year circa 2019. Salmonellosis is caused by Salmonella enterica, with over 2,500 serotypes of S. enterica identified. Knowledge of the epidemiology of Salmonella serotypes may facilitate traceback from strains detected in human cases to identify the cause of local and multijurisdictional outbreaks and to implement control measures. We analysed cases of human salmonellosis notified in the Northern Territory (NT), Australia, between 1 January 2005 and 31 December 2024. We calculated the incidence of salmonellosis for all locally acquired infections according to the NT location where the infection was most likely acquired. We mapped the geographical distribution of the 25 most frequently notified Salmonella serotypes to Statistical Areas Level 2. There were 8,706 salmonellosis cases acquired in the NT: Salmonella Saintpaul (1,047 notifications) was the most frequently notified serotype, followed by S. Virchow (948 notifications); S. Typhimurium (822 notifications); S. Ball (578 notifications); and S. Lansing (460 notifications). While S. Typhimurium was ubiquitous in the NT, S. Saintpaul, S. Virchow and S. Hvittingfoss showed distinct geographic patterns. Our atlas makes key epidemiological information about common NT Salmonella serotypes readily available, which may be useful for developing hypotheses during outbreak investigations; for facilitating traceback of suspected food vehicles; and for implementing control strategies more rapidly.

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16/06/26

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Draper, Anthony, Martyn Kirk, Samantha Colquhoun, Kathryn Glass, Kelly Lomas, Kimberley McMahon, Joshua Francis, Jennifer Yan, and Vicki Krause. 2026. “An Atlas of Common Salmonella Serotypes from Routinely Notified Human Cases in the Northern Territory of Australia, 2005–2024”. Communicable Diseases Intelligence 50 (June). https://doi.org/10.33321/cdi.2026.50.038.

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