For the second time in three years, a Salmonella outbreak has been linked to raw tuna and five states have been part of both outbreaks. Residents of California, Mississippi, Virginia, Wisconsin and Illinois were part of the 2012 outbreak linked to a raw ground tuna product called tuna scrape and the current outbreak.
In 2012, 425 people in 28 states were part of the outbreak which was the largest of 2012. Fifty five people were hospitalized. The product, called tuna scrape or Nakaochi Scrape, because it is scraped from the bones of the fish, was used to make sushi, sashimi and other seafood dishes. It was produced in India and distributed in the US by Moon Marine USA Corporation.
Health officials have not identified the specific source of the tuna in this outbreak and do not have advice on how consumers can protect themselves.
Other states included in the outbreak, which has been linked to a rare strain, called Salmonella Paratyphi B variant L(+) tartrate(+), are Arizona, New Mexico, South Dakota and Washington. The patients, who range in age from younger than 1 to 83, reported onset of Salmonella infection symptoms rom March 5, 2015 to May 3, 2015.
