The latest food poisoning outbreak to strike the United States has sickened at least 95 people in 19 states. The bacteria Salmonella Bareilly is the cause. The CDC, FDA, and state public health agencies are working together to uncover the source of the bacteria. While no specific food has been identified, a majority (69%) of patients ate spicy tuna sushi, sashami, or similar raw foods in the days before they become ill, so those products are strongly suspected.
The outbreak is growing quickly, with new cases being added every day. Doctors discover new cases when patients come to them for help. A stool sample will identify if a bacteria, and which bacteria, caused the illness.
Fred Pritzker, food safety lawyer and Salmonella expert, is asking consumers to seek medical attention if they are ill. He said, “There are many reasons for consumers to sit up and take notice of this outbreak. Not only can Salmonella infections lead to serious health consequences, but your case could help investigators solve the outbreak.”
As in all foodborne illness outbreaks, the number of actual cases is much larger than the number of reported cases. The CDC has determined that in Salmonella outbreaks, a multiplier of 30.3 is used to estimate the number of actual victims. In this case, that means there are at least 2800 cases of illness caused by Salmonella Bareilly in the United States at this time.
The clusters of illness in Connecticut, Maryland, Rhode Island, Texas, and Wisconsin are being carefully watched to discover a food source.
Image courtesy of the CDC
