The number eight multistate food poisoning outbreak of 2018 was the Salmonella Sandiego and Salmonella enteric subspecies IIIb outbreak linked to recalled HyVee Spring Pasta Salads that sickened at least 101 people in 10 states. That outbreak ended in September 2018.
The illness onset date range was June 21, 2018 to August 7, 2018. Twenty-five patients were hospitalized.
The case count by state was: Illinois (2), Iowa (37), Kansas (3), Minnesota (23), Missouri (3), Nebraska (11), North Dakota (1), Oregon (1), South Dakota (19), and Tennessee (1). The patient age range was from 1 year to 89. Officials interviewed 95 people and found that 26% were hospitalized.
In interviews, patients were asked what they ate the week before they got sick. Sixty, or 76%, of 79 ill persons interviewed said they ate Spring Pasta Salad purchased from grocery stores in Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, and South Dakota. The ill people who lived in North Dakota, Oregon, and Tennessee traveled to states where the Hy-Vee grocery stores were loaded.
You can contact food safety attorney Fred Pritzker for help by calling 1-888-377-8900 or 612-338-0202 if you think you are part of this outbreak.
On July 17, 2o18, Hy-Vee stores in Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wisconsin removed all Spring Pasta Salad products.
Public health investigators used the PulseNet system to find people who were part of this outbreak. Whole genome sequencing (WGS) performed on isolates taken from patients found that the bacteria that made them sick was closely related genetically, which means they were more likely to share a source of infection. Epidemiologic evidence found that Spring Pasta Salad purchased at Hy-Vee grocery stores was the likely source of this outbreak.
The symptoms of a Salmonella infection include fever, diarrhea that can be bloody, stomach and abdominal cramps, nausea, and vomiting. The illness can last up to a week. In some people, irritable bowel syndrome, endocarditis, and high blood pressure may develop years later as a result of this infection.
