The salmonella pathogen has been a problem ever since it was discovered. It seems that this bacterium is evolving to deadly strains. It seems that not only does this pathogen cause outbreaks, but the new strains are said to have even worse consequences than the latter. The salmonella pathogen is mostly associated with meat products and it seems that although people know of its existence, they have no idea on how to reduce its spread. Recently, there was a story on how an outbreak of salmonella occurred in the Netherlands and the United States via smoked salmon. The Dutch public officials who announced the outbreak linked it to a Dutch fish factory.

It was reported that about 200 people had fallen ill in the Netherlands and about 100 people in the United States had the same symptoms. However, the United States public officials have not released a public statement to confirm or deny the possibility of the outbreak.

The Dutch National Institute of Public Health (RIVM) predicted that the number of people likely to be infected by the outbreak would be higher. They also noted that this particular strain of Salmonella was different from the other ones that had been treated earlier. This somehow proved that the Salmonella pathogen strain is evolving to a new and more dangerous strain. However, the Food Safety and Drugs Agency are undertaking an investigation to determine if any outbreak here is due to the contaminated salmon. As prevention, all the shipment companies and meat outlets are looking into quality inspection. All recalled smoked salmon is to be discarded and people were urged to make sure that they properly cook their meat to ensure that the pathogen is eradicated. All the tainted salmon came from a Netherlands company, Foppen, and was distributed in the U.S at Costco under the Kirkland brand.