At least 135 people have been confirmed victims of a food poisoning outbreak in Melbourne, state capital of Victoria, with 15 hospitalized.

Salmonella is most likely to be behind the outbreak, announced John Carnie, Victoria Department of Human Services (DHS) acting chief health officer, on Saturday.

"The specific type of salmonella won't be confirmed until Monday following further laboratory tests," he said.

The outbreak originated from Turkish eateries The Alasya Restaurant and Alasya 2 in Sydney Road, Brunswick.

The department has received about 400 phone calls from people reporting illness after dining at the restaurants between Jan. 8 and 19.

Source: Xinhua