Salmonella in cucumbers has sickened at least 85 people in Arizona, killing one of them, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services. The cases, which have been reported from Apache, Coconino, Maricopa, Pima, Pinal, and Yuma counties, are part of a 33-state outbreak that has sickened 558 people.
The outbreak has been linked to cucumbers grown in Mexico and distributed in the U.S. by Andrew & Williamson Fresh Produce of San Diego, California. Three strains of Salmonella Poona are associated with this outbreak. Four state health departments – Arizona, California, Montana, and Nevada – have isolated Salmonella from Andrew & Williamson cucumbers collected from various locations. The Nevada, Arizona and Montana health departments have all isolated outbreak strains from cucumbers collected from retail locations. And the San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency isolated one of the outbreak strains from cucumbers collected from the Andrew & Williamson Fresh Produce facility.
Andrew & Williamson issued a recall for all cucumbers sold from August 1, 2015 through September 3, 2015. Custom Produce Sales recalled all cucumbers sold under the Fat Boy label starting August 1, 2015. Stores that have recalled these cucumbers include some locations of Walmart, WinCo, Savemart, Ralphs, and Food 4 Less. In Minnesota, at least 10 illnesses were linked to salads served at Red Lobster. Most of those sickened in this outbreak, 52 percent, are children under the age of 18.
Nationwide, 112 people have been hospitalized and three have died. The other fatalities were in California, and Texas.
By state, the case count is as follows: Alaska (12), Arizona (95), Arkansas (8), California (120), Colorado (17), Hawaii (1), Idaho (20), Illinois (8), Indiana (2), Iowa (1), Kansas (2), Kentucky (1), Louisiana (4), Minnesota (29), Missouri (9), Montana (14), Nebraska (5), Nevada (11), New Mexico (27), New York (5), North Dakota (3), Ohio (2), Oklahoma (12), Oregon (17), Pennsylvania (2), South Carolina (8), South Dakota (1), Texas (24), Utah (46), Virginia (1), Washington (18), Wisconsin (29), and Wyoming (4). Illnesses started on July 3, 2015 and have continued to September 11, 2015.
Salmonella causes symptoms including vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea that may be bloody, fever, chills, headache, and muscle pains. Symptoms usually begin six to seventy-two hours after exposure to the pathogenic bacteria. Some cases require hospitalization.
Anyone who ate cucumbers and developed these symptoms should see a health care provider and mention possible exposure to Salmonella. There are long term consequences to this illness, including reactive arthritis and high blood pressure.
