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Volume 32, Number 8—August 2026
Dispatch
Outbreak of Salmonella enterica Serovar Reading Linked to Dried Bovine Meat, New South Wales, Australia, 2023
, Vendula Blaya-Novakova, Anne McIntosh, Patrick Peacock, Basel Suliman, Grace A. Blackwell, Qinning Wang, Vitali Sintchenko, Kirsty Hope, and Isabel Hess
Table 2
Summary of food/menu items reportedly consumed by persons at restaurant A during outbreak of Salmonella enterica serovar Reading linked to dried bovine meat, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, June 26–July 29, 2023*
| Food or menu item | Case-patients | Controls | Crude odds ratio† |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Point estimate (95% CI) | p value | |||
| Mattar paneer‡ | 12/13 (92) | 26/45 (58) | 6.13 (1.30–59.66) | 0.019 |
| Sadeako bhatmas (beans) | 4/4 (100) | 34/54 (63) | 5.35 (0.53–722.41) | 0.18 |
| Newari chicken choila khaja set | 4/4 (100) | 34/54 (63) | 5.35 (0.53–722.41) | 0.18 |
| Chicken choela [choila]‡ | 15/17 (88) | 23/41 (56) | 4.88 (1.28–27.00) | 0.018 |
| Achar‡ | 14/16 (88) | 24/42 (57) | 4.38 (1.14–24.28) | 0.03 |
| Garlic naan | 3/3 (100) | 35/55 (64) | 4.04 (0.36–553.92) | 0.291 |
| Goat Bhutan‡ | 16/19 (84) | 22/39 (56) | 3.67 (1.07–15.77) | 0.038 |
| Green salad (carrot and cucumber) | 11/13 (85) | 27/45 (60) | 3.10 (0.79–17.34) | 0.11 |
| Sayabhale chicken | 2/2 (100) | 36/56 (64) | 2.81 (0.21–394.67) | 0.469 |
| Soft drink (cola) | 9/11 (82) | 29/47 (62) | 2.38 (0.59–13.53) | 0.235 |
| Vegetable pakora [Pyaji/pyaj pakoda] | 12/15 (80) | 26/43 (60) | 2.36 (0.67–10.27) | 0.187 |
| Tomato pickles | 11/14 (79) | 27/44 (61) | 2.09 (0.59–9.15) | 0.263 |
| Goat (mutton) curry | 18/24 (75) | 20/34 (59) | 2.01 (0.68–6.47) | 0.213 |
| Beer | 4/5 (80) | 34/53 (64) | 1.70 (0.29–17.80) | 0.579 |
| Papadum [Papad] | 14/19 (74) | 24/39 (62) | 1.67 (0.54–5.73) | 0.384 |
| Newari Bhutan khaja set | 1/1 (100) | 37/57 (65) | 1.64 (0.08–243.81) | 0.757 |
| Chicken momo mutton soup | 1/1 (100) | 37/57 (65) | 1.64 (0.08–243.81) | 0.757 |
| Potato, cucumber, and carrot pickle [Aloo ko achar] | 6/8 (75) | 32/50 (64) | 1.48 (0.34–8.71) | 0.617 |
| Basmati rice (steamed) | 19/27 (70) | 19/31 (61) | 1.47 (0.51–4.41) | 0.48 |
| Chili chicken | 3/4 (75) | 35/54 (65) | 1.28 (0.19–13.91) | 0.804 |
| Cocktails | 13/19 (68) | 25/39 (64) | 1.18 (0.39–3.84) | 0.773 |
| Furandana (fried beaten rice) | 8/12 (67) | 30/46 (65) | 1.02 (0.29–4.01) | 0.974 |
| Gulab Jamun [lalmohan] | 14/22 (64) | 24/36 (67) | 0.87 (0.29–2.63) | 0.802 |
| Macha (Fish) Thakali Set | 5/8 (63) | 33/50 (66) | 0.82 (0.19–3.90) | 0.792 |
| Pressure cooker momo in goat bone soup | 10/17 (59) | 28/41 (68) | 0.66 (0.21–2.12) | 0.481 |
| Plain lassi | 1/2 (50) | 37/56 (66) | 0.52 (0.04–6.72) | 0.585 |
| Mango lassi | 1/2 (50) | 37/56 (66) | 0.52 (0.04–6.72) | 0.585 |
| Pressure cooker vegetarian momo (called bamboo momo) | 1/2 (50) | 37/56 (66) | 0.52 (0.04–6.72) | 0.585 |
| Roast potato with Sichuan pepper | 3/6 (50) | 35/52 (67) | 0.49 (0.10–2.55) | 0.386 |
| Sukuti [buff or mutton] | 5/10 (50) | 33/48 (69) | 0.46 (0.12–1.78) | 0.257 |
| Jwai Thakali Set | 2/5 (40) | 36/53 (68) | 0.34 (0.05–1.92) | 0.219 |
| Chauchau chapatey | 1/3 (33) | 37/55 (67) | 0.30 (0.03–2.39) | 0.246 |
| Momo (buff, boar, chicken) | 4/11 (36) | 34/47 (72) | 0.23 (0.06–0.86) | 0.029 |
| Chicken lollipop | 1/4 (25) | 37/54 (69) | 0.20 (0.02–1.32) | 0.095 |
| Fried game bird (pheasant) [Kalij thali] | 1/4 (25) | 37/54 (69) | 0.20 (0.02–1.32) | 0.095 |
| Chicken sausages with tomato and chili | 0/2 (0) | 38/56 (68) | 0.10 (0.00–1.26) | 0.076 |
*Values are no. (%) except as indicated. Data source: Salmonella reading outbreak line list, Health Protection NSW, Sydney. Extracted on June 5, 2025. Because of incomplete data, 1 dining group from August 1 is not included in the analysis for food items consumed. Items only consumed as part of takeaway by the foodborne illness complaint group were excluded from the analysis. †Firth logistic regression used to estimate crude odds ratios due to incomplete separation for food items. ‡Considered statistically significant with a crude odds ratio >1 and p value <0.05.
1These first authors contributed equally to this article.