Increase in Consumption of Belgian Chocolates Over Easter Could Mean More Cases

European health officials are investigating an outbreak of salmonella linked to Belgian chocolates that has sickened at least 150 children across the continent, with the increased distribution and consumption over Easter leading to fears of more infections.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) said that on March 27, 2022, the United Kingdom notified it of a cluster of cases with monophasic Salmonella Typhimurium sequence type 34 infection.

The outbreak, WHO said, has been epidemiologically and molecularly linked to chocolate produced in Belgium and distributed globally to over 113 countries and territories across all WHO Regions.

To date, a total of 151 genetically related cases suspected to be linked to the consumption of the implicated chocolate products have been reported from 11 countries.

“While 150 of 151 known cases have been reported in Europe, one case has been reported in the United States of America and there is the likelihood of additional cases being reported from other countries given the broad distribution of the products during the Easter holiday which may lead to increased consumption of the implicated product or transportation of the implicated product to additional locations as a result of holiday-related travel,” WHO said in the release.

Salmonella bacteria are widely distributed in domestic and wild animals such as through poultry products. In turn, it causes salmonellosis, which is a disease caused by non-typhoidal salmonella bacteria.

Till now, the risk of spread in the WHO European region and globally, the release said, is assessed as moderate until information is available on the full recall of the products.

As per the WHO’s risk assessment, salmonella infections are typically mild and do not require treatment, however, children and elderly individuals are at greater risk for severe complications related to associated dehydration.

“To date, most cases have been in children under 10 years of age which may be due to the implicated product being targeted at children,” it said.

While there have been no fatalities associated with the outbreak reported as of 25 April 2022, among the cases with information on symptoms and severity, a high hospitalization rate was observed.

“Further information is needed to allow for a more accurate assessment of the severity associated with this event, including data on symptoms,” the UN agency said and added, “given that the identification of existing cases was through advanced molecular techniques, which are not routinely used in all countries, there is a likelihood that some proportion of cases will go undetected.”

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