Salmonella Outbreak Hits 42 States

[82Rigger]

388 Sick, No Deaths So Far. Source is Unknown.

By Daniel J. DeNoon
WebMD Health News

Jan 7, 2009 -- An ongoing salmonella outbreak has sickened 388 people in 42 states, the CDC said today.

At least 67 people have been hospitalized; no deaths have been reported. Victims of the outbreak range in age from less than 1 year to 103.

"We are collaborating with public health officials in 42 states, the FDA, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to investigate an ongoing multistate outbreak of human infection with Salmonella typhimurium," CDC spokesperson Lola Russell tells WebMD.

The CDC has not released the names of the states involved. However, the Ohio Department of Health says in a news release that there have been 50 cases among residents of that state, making Ohio the state with the second most cases.

An FDA spokesperson says the agency is working closely with the CDC to identify the cause of the outbreak. If the CDC determines that the illnesses were caused by an FDA-regulated product, the spokesperson says, the FDA will perform a "traceback" investigation to determine the specific product linked to the outbreak and how that product became contaminated.

The salmonella strain is a common one. Salmonella typhimurium is the same type of salmonella that in 2007 sickened 401 people in 41 states, Russell says. A CDC investigation traced the 2007 outbreak to undercooked not-ready-to-eat Banquet brand frozen pot pies.

The recent salmonella outbreak traced to peppers (and possibly tomatoes) was the saintpaul strain, a different type of salmonella.

Previous outbreaks of Salmonella typhimurium have been traced to poultry, raw milk and cheese, and pet turtles.

"We are reminding people that it is often difficult to trace the source or sources of salmonella outbreaks," Russell says. "We don't have a potential source at this point."

Localized salmonella outbreaks are not uncommon. Every year, the CDC receives reports of some 40,000 salmonella cases, with about 400 deaths. Because less serious cases are not reported, the actual case number is estimated to be 30-fold higher.

[39mto39g]

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All chickens have salmonella, You eat a chicken that has not been cooked to 160 degrees, You will get salmonella. Chicken preparation and clean up are probably more important than cooking. You put a chicken on a cutting board and hold the chicken with your bare hands then put the peaces on a plate to take to the BBQ pit. You put the peaces on the pit. Now hears the tricky part. Wash the plate, wash your hands, wash the cutting board, and wash the knife. And when you go out to the pit take a soapy cloth to lift the BBQ pit lid that you handled with your salmonella hand. And the door knob.
It's real easy to get salmonella and it's also easy to prevent it.
In a health adult salmonella just gives you the runs for a couple days, it's , as always, the old or the sickly or very young that have a hard time with it.

Ron