Salmonella Outbreak Sickens Hundreds of People in 18 States

Health officials estimate that there are more than 1.4 million cases of salmonellosis diagnosed in the United States each year, with about 1.3 million of those cases coming from food. Most cases involve single individuals or groups of people, but two weeks ago the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention detected a widespread outbreak of salmonella that may potentially be linked to produce.

The outbreak was identified by a national computer lab system the CDC uses that looks for matches and patterns in reports of diagnosed food-borne illness throughout the country. So far at least 172 people in 18 states have been sickened, according to a statement released by health officials Monday.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has joined in the investigation to help trace the outbreak to its origin. No one has died from being infected, but 11 people have been hospitalized. Dr. Chris Braden, a CDC epidemiologist investigating the outbreak, said that most of the salmonella cases have occurred in adults, with more than 60% of the patients being women.

According to the CDC’s website, salmonella bacteria usually cause a nonfatal illness that brings on symptoms that can include nausea, vomiting, heavy diarrhea, abdominal cramps, fever, and headache. People can catch the infection from many different sources including water, insects, soil, kitchen surfaces, animal feces, and raw poultry, meats, and seafood.

Health officials think that the bacteria may have been spread through some common form of produce, but the illnesses being investigated have not been linked to any specific product, restaurant chain, or supermarkets. "We're very early in the investigation," said CDC spokesman Dave Daigle. There are about 2,500 different types of salmonella bacteria, and the type in this outbreak is Salmonella typhimurium, one of the most common.

The states involved are Arkansas, Connecticut, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Virginia, Vermont, and Wisconsin.