The New Zealand Ministry of Health is working with local and national authorities to determine the cause of an outbreak of Salmonella mbandaka, a strain rarely seen in New Zealand.

Nationally there have been 28 cases, 10 of which have occurred in the Nelson Marlborough district. A recent death occurred in an elderly woman in Nelson Hospital who had been infected with Salmonella mbandaka.

The Ministry’s Director of Public Health, Dr Mark Jacobs said,

"… it’s worth noting at this stage, no food premises have been implicated and all food samples tested have returned negative results."