A 10-state bean sprout Salmonella outbreak has sickened 68 people, many of them in Massachusetts. In a outbreak update released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) the case count by state was as follows: Connecticut (4), Maine (3), Massachusetts (31), Montana (1), New Hampshire (4), New York (5), Ohio (1), Pennsylvania (10), Rhode Island (6), and Vermont (3).
Health officials say the Montana case contracted the infection while traveling to the East Coast. During patient interviews, case patients, who range in age from less than one year to 83 years old, reported onset of illness dates ranging from September 30, 2014 to November 10, 2014. Fifty-six percent of those sickened are female. There have been 11 hospitalizations.
Health officials have linked the illnesses to sprouts produced by Wonton Foods Inc. of Brooklyn. The company has not issued a recall but it has halted production and distribution of sprouts.
Consumers who have purchased these sprouts should not eat them. Children, seniors, pregnant women and others with compromised immune systems are at heightened risk of contracting a Salmonella infection and should always avoid eating raw sprouts of any kind.
Symptoms of a Salmonella infection including fever, abdominal pain and diarrhea, usually develop six to 72 hours after exposure and last about a week. For some people, the diarrhea is so severe that hospitalization is required. These patients are at greater risk of developing a serious, sometimes fatal, bloodstream infection.
