A five-state Salmonella outbreak has hit Michigan residents hard. Nine of the 16 people sickened by tainted ground beef are from Michigan and at least five of them have been hospitalized according to the Michigan Department of Community Health.
Onset illness dates for those sickened in Michigan ranged from Dec. 9, 2012 to Jan. 7, 2013. The case patients range in age from 2 to 87 years old. Five are females, four are males. Most of them live in the southeastern part of the state in Huron, Macomb, Delta-Menominee, Oakland, and Wayne counties.
Six of the nine case patients in Michigan reported eating raw beef kibbeh at a restaurant on Dec. 7 and 8, 2012. Kibbeh is a Middle Eastern dish made from ground meat which is sometimes served raw. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that consumers do not eat raw ground beef.
Public health investigators have established a link between the nine cases of Salmonella Typhimurium posioning and meat sold at two stores, Jouni Meats, Inc. in Sterling Heights, Mich. and Gab Halal Foods in Troy, Mich. Both establishments have issued ground beef recalls. In both cases, the meat which was produced between December 4 and December 10, was sold without a label. Consumers who purchased these products and have them in their freezers should not eat them.
Salmonella can cause serious, sometimes life-threatening illness. Young children, seniors and those with compromised immune systems are most at risk. Symptoms of a Salmonella infection, called salmonellosis, are fever, vomiting and diarrhea. Consumers who may have eaten the meat under recall and have developed these symptoms should see a health care provider.
