A 2015 Salmonella outbreak linked to whole roasted pork was one of the largest in Washington state’s history, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The outbreak sickened 184 people in Washington, one person on Alaska, two people in California, two people in Idaho and three people in Oregon.
The outbreak was linked to meat from rom Kapowsin Meats of Graham, Wash. There were two outbreak strains -both antibiotic resistant, Salmonella I 4,[5],12:i:- and Salmonella Infantis. Thirty people were hospitalized. Most of those who became ill reported attending events where whole pigs were roasted before they became symptomatic.
Salmonella causes symptoms including nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, diarrhea, bloody diarrhea and fever which usually develop within six to 72 hours of exposure and last up to a week. Those sickened in this outbreak reported onset of illness dates from April 25, 2015 to October 10, 2015.
Kapowsin issued a recall on August 13 and the expanded the recall and ceased production on August 27, 2015. In all, 523,380 pounds of pork products were recalled.
The CDC’s National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS) laboratory conducted the antibiotic-resistance testing on samples from 10 case patients. Results of the tests showed all of the isolates tested were multidrug resistant. Antibiotics including ampicillin, streptomycin, sulfisoxazole, and tetracycline were not effective in combatting the infections. Antibiotic resistance is associated with illnesses that are more severe, increased risk of hospitalization, longer hospital stays and increased risk of complications.
A small number of Salmonella infections migrate from the gastrointestinal tract to the bloodstream infection. These cases need immediate medical treatment as they can be fatal. Long-term complications of a Salmonella infections can include heart problems, irritable bowel syndrome, and reactive arthritis, which causes painful swelling of the joints and eye irritation.
