The Salmonella Enteritidis outbreak linked to Wonton Foods bean sprouts has sickened at least 111 people in 12 states. Twenty-six percent of case patients have been hospitalized; there are no deaths. No recall was issued for this product. This outbreak is still ongoing.
Investigations by state, local, and federal public health officials indicate that bean sprouts produced by Wonton Foods are the likely source of this outbreak. Officials interviewed 73 ill persons, and found that 48, or 66% of them ate bean sprouts or menu items containing bean sprouts the week before they got sick. Many of the patients ate at restaurants that were supplied with bean sprouts by Wonton Foods.
These mung bean sprouts have a shelf life of 12 days, so they are most likely not available for purchase in grocery stores and restaurants. Wonton Foods destroyed any remaining product on November 21, 2014 and cleaned and sanitized their facility. They resumed shipment of sprouts on November 29, 2014.
The case count by state is: Connecticut (8), Maine (4), Maryland (5), Massachusetts (35), Montana (1), New Hampshire (6), New York (21), Ohio (3), Pennsylvania (17), Rhode Island (7), Vermont (3), and Virginia (1). Illness onsets dates range from September 30, 2014 to November 22, 2014. It takes an average of 2 to 4 weeks between when a person gets sick and when the illness is reported.
Salmonella outbreaks have a multiplier of 30.3. That means that for every case reported to officials, more than 30 cases are not reported. As many as 3363 people could be sickened in this outbreak.
Public health officials recommend that children, the elderly, pregnant women, and people with chronic illnesses and weakened immune systems avoid raw sprouts of any kind, including clover, radish, alfalfa, and mung bean. If you do want to eat sprouts, cook them thoroughly to kill any bacteria. The warm, moist environment that sprouts are grown in is ideal for bacterial growth, and some sprout seeds are contaminated with bacteria.
If you have eaten raw sprouts in the past few weeks or months and have developed the symptoms of Salmonella food poisoning, see your doctor. Those symptoms include diarrhea, fever, abdominal cramps, headache, nausea, vomiting, and loss of appetite. Some people become so ill they must be hospitalized. It’s important to see a doctor, since complications from a Salmonella infection can be lifelong, including reactive arthritis, heart problems, and inflammation of the spine and lower back.
