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Salmonella Outbreak Sickens 172 Nationwide

October 31, 2006

Food Safety • Salmonella Outbreak Spreads to 42 States • Feds Seize Rodent-Infested Food at Wisconsin Warehouse • Missouri Company Recalls 14,000 Pounds of Beef Due to E.Coli • California Firm Recalls Beef Products • Feds Seize Millions in 'Unsanitary' Produce From Tennessee Company • Consumer Group Proposes Food Label Makeovers • Beef Recall Produces Call For Plant Closing • Consumer Reports: Most Store-Bought Chicken Contains Harmful Bacteria • FDA Seeks Permanent Injunction Against Sharkco Seafood • Two Companies Pull Meat, Poultry Products Over Health Concerns • Food Safety Group Presses Senate For Action • New Report Recommends Enhanced Food Tracing Guidelines --- • More ...

Government health officials are investigating another outbreak of food contamination. Like September's E. coli outbreak, the current salmonella cases may be linked to produce.

Thus far, as many as 172 people in 18 states have gotten sick and 11 have been hospitalized.

The salmonella bacteria may have spread through tomatoes, according to the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention. But a CDC spokesman says no link has yet been established between the bacteria and specific food products or food distribution chains.

CDC officials say they have been monitoring the salmonella outbreak for the last two weeks, as it grew and spread across the country.

To date, affected states include Arkansas, Connecticut, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Virginia, Vermont and Wisconsin.

CDC scientists say most of the salmonella cases have occurred in adults and most of those cases have occurred in women. The CDC says the current outbreak involves one of the more common forms of the bacteria.

The Salmonella germ is actually a group of bacteria that can cause diarrheal illness in humans. They are microscopic living creatures that pass from the feces of people or animals, to other people or other animals.

The typical symptoms include diarrhea, fever and stomach pain, which start up to three days after people become infected.

The symptoms usually go away after one week. But some people have to see a doctor or be hospitalized because the diarrhea is severe or the infection has affected other organs.

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