22.02.2019

During 2018, the Scottish Salmonella, Shigella and Clostridium difficile Reference Laboratory (SSSCDRL) reported 751 cases of human non-typhoidal Salmonella to Health Protection Scotland. This represented a 10% decrease on the 840 cases reported in 2017, and the 839 cases reported in 2016.The two most commonly reported serotypes were Salmonella Enteritidis and Salmonella Typhimurium which accounted for 55% of all Salmonella isolates reported in 2018. S. Enteritidis remains the most common serotype, with 275 (36.6%) reports. This was an increase of 11% on the 247 reported in 2017. Reports of Salmonella Typhimurium decreased by 24% in 2018, with 139 reports compared to 183 in 2017 – and compared to 128 reported in 2016. This remains the second most commonly reported serotype accounting for 19% of cases. In Scotland, the overall rate of Salmonella infection was 13.9 per 100,000 population, a decrease on the rate in the previous year of 15.5 per 100,000 population.

The ten most commonly reported serotypes in Scotland, 2018

Serotype	No of cases
S. enteritidis	275
S. typhimurium	139
S. newport	28
S. infantis	23
S. agona	21
S. stanely	16
S. java	13
S. saintpaul	13
S. kentucky	11
S. virchow	10
Others (75 serotypes)	202

The rates of infection of Salmonella vary across the population, with overall higher rates observed in children under 5 years of age compared with older children.