Almost 40 percent of Salmonella cases in the current outbreak linked to backyard flocks are children under the age of 10, according to the latest update from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The Salmonella Newport outbreak has sickened 126 people in 26 states. At least 28 people have been hospitalized.
Health investigators have traced the source of contaminated chicks and ducklings to Mt. Healthy Hatcheries in Ohio, a mail-order hatchery. This is the third time in three years that the hatchery has been linked to a Salmonella outbreak. At least 158 people were sickened in the 2013 outbreak. Two people in the 2012 outbreak died.
Mt. Healthy Hatcheries also sells birds to retailers. At least 52 of the case patients bought the birds from feed or farm store companies in multiple states.
In all three outbreaks, children under ten accounted for more than a third of all cases. To keep kids safe while maintaining backyard flocks, the CDC recommends the following. Never bring live poultry or any of the items used to care for the birds into the house. Wash hands thoroughly after handling or feeding the birds. Children should not cuddle or kiss the birds. Supervise children over 5 when they are feeding or handling the birds and make sure they wash their hands thoroughly when they are done. Children under five should not be in contact with the animals.
The case counts by state are as follows:Alabama (5), Arizona (1), Arkansas (1), California (1), Colorado (3), Georgia (7), Idaho (2), Illinois (1), Indiana (2), Kentucky (8), Maine (5), Maryland (2), Montana (1), New Hampshire (2), New Mexico (2), New York (12), North Carolina (14), Ohio (13), Pennsylvania (15), South Carolina (3), Tennessee (8), Utah (1), Vermont (3), Virginia (8), Washington (1), and West Virginia (5).
WASH THEIR HANDS, please!