CDC investigating salmonella outbreak in 23 states

[left-of-center2012]

Source: The Hill

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is investigating an outbreak of salmonella across 23 states, with reports of hundreds of people being sickened. The federal agency announced in a release on Friday an additional 87 illnesses, and eight new states had been affected since the last update on the matter Tuesday.

The statement added that as of July 23, a total of 212 people have been infected with the salmonella strain, and 38 of the infections stemmed from new states: Arizona, Florida, Idaho, Maine, North Dakota, Nebraska, South Dakota and Virginia.

The agency noted that a specific source for the salmonella strain has not been identified, and there are currently no advisements against eating or consuming particular foods, nor are there any links to specific retailers that might be supplying contaminated goods.

Public health officials are interviewing patients to investigate the origin of the recent outbreak. Thirty-one patients have been hospitalized as a result of infections, and zero fatalities have been reported. According to CDC state data, Oregon had the most cases of salmonella with 51 reported infections. Utah followed close behind with 40 reported cases.

Read more: https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/public-global-health/509022-cdc-investigating-salmonella-outbreak-in-23-states

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In rare instances, salmonella infections can be fatal. People with weakened immune systems, children under the age of 5 and adults over 65 are more likely to have severe illness symptoms.

[Wellstone ruled]

1. What the heck is going on?

No idea of the source or is the source so politically connected that fear of backlash is the rule?

[underpants]

2. Excellent

State ✅
Item ❓
Store ❓

[BComplex]

3. You're forgetting: Trump took over the CDC a couple of weeks ago.

We may never know where this is coming from.

Pretty remarkable that Oregon is especially hard hit, however.

[duforsure]

4. Another bi-product from Dr. Frankentrump?

Last edited Sat Jul 25, 2020, 07:15 PM - Edit history (1)

[Dave Starsky]

5. It's the potato salad.

Stay away from the goddam potato salad.

This shit happens every summer. Just don't fucking eat it.

[Rebl2]

8. Is this

confirmed?

[Dave Starsky]

10. The country's in a heat wave right now.

Eggs, mayonnaise, long car rides to the employee picnic... That potato salad is like the Andromeda Strain sitting in your back seat.

[Cronezilla]

13. This!

My thoughts exactly. Picnic food like devilled eggs, too. Summer Heat + Humidity + Mayo + Eggs = Puke up yer freekin' toenails for days afterwards.

[we can do it]

6. Hey anti-maskholes don't pay any attention to this either.

[SergeStorms]

7. 2020 just keeps on giving up the hits.

All this winning. We must have lapped ourselves in being great by now, haven't we?

"The year of Trump" will go down in history right alongside the black plague.

[Initech]

9. Sure, add a dose of salmonella onto the 2020 shit list.

[Firestorm49]

11. I guess we need better regulations!

[wheelinanddealin]

12. Can't catch a break

this year has really exposed how important the president is

[llashram]

14. this country administered

by the trump administration is headed toward the rocks. And trump keeps telling his drunken helmsman, Mitch Mcconnell, full speed ahead!!!! Jan 20th, 2021 can't come soon enough.

[du_grad]

15. Salmonella can be spread by people from contact with food or animals

Salmonella has many different subtypes. The organisms are "normal enteric flora" in certain animals like turtles or poultry. Salmonella can spread to humans and cause mild diarrhea or systemic infection and death.

I am a retired microbiology technologist as of 2016 with 35+ years of microbiology experience in clinical laboratories. If we isolated Salmonella from any specimen, it was subcultured to an agar slant and sent to our state health laboratories for further serogrouping. The subtyping was used for contact tracing. If this is across 23 states they have their work cut out for them to identify the source.

Salmonella species are most dangerous to the very young and the very old. It is a bacteria (not a virus). In this very hot weather, do NOT leave items that should be refrigerated out on a table for very long. Bacteria reproduce rapidly in warm environments. It is why we incubated our cultures at 35 degrees C (human body temperature). Yes, mayonnaise based dishes can be dangerous but it will grow anywhere that it is warm if the food contains it. Chicken and eggs are high on the list, but it can also contaminate other meat.

If you are working with raw chicken, make SURE you wash your hands when you are finished. Clean up work surfaces with hot soapy water. If you use a dishcloth or sponge, do NOT keep using it. Put it in the wash and get a clean one once your are done cleaning. Make sure eggs are fully cooked. It is not the outside of the egg that gets infected. The Salmonella come from inside the chicken when the egg is forming inside the hens. Eggs are safest hard cooked, over hard, or scrambled. I know many people like over-easy eggs but you are throwing the dice eating them that way.

Salmonella is an organism that can go systemic in some individuals, meaning that the organism can infect tissues and the blood (i.e. blood poisoning or sepsis). Over the years I have seen Salmonella in feces (most common), sputum, blood, a shoulder fluid, and other sources. If it shows up outside of the gastrointestinal tract, it is considered a systemic infection and becomes dangerous. This is why the organism is tracked so carefully.

Wash your hands after handling any reptiles - it is common with turtles as it is part of their normal fecal flora. Don't let kids play with turtles. If they touch a turtle, have them gently put them down and make them wash their hands immediately. Frogs and ducks can also carry the organism. Don't let kids play with them either.

If you want to read more check out https://www.cdc.gov/salmonella/