People in the states of Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, and Michigan have been hard hit by the melon Salmonella outbreak that has sickened at least 93 people in 9 states. The case count in each state is: Ohio (27), Indiana (18), Kentucky (16), and Michigan (19). The other states involved include Alabama (1), Illinois (5), Minnesota (3), Missouri (3), and Wisconsin (1).
The pathogen that has sickened people, Salmonella Carrau, is relatively rare in the United States. Officials are using the PulseNet system to find people who may be part of this outbreak, and more may be identified. PulseNet identified the outbreak on April 2, 2019.
It makes sense that most of the victims are in those states, since the outbreak has been linked by the CDC and FDA to precut melons that were produced and distributed by Caito Foods facility in Indianapolis, Indiana. The melons were sold at large chain stores, including Kroger, Target, Walmart, Trader Joes, and Amazon/Whole Foods, but were also sold at independent retailers in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.
It’s important that consumers check to see if they have any of these products in their homes. Check the list of recalled melon products carefully, noting the brand names and type of product, and discard any you may have. Not all of these products were sold in all of the states mentioned above.
The outbreak notice also states that anyone who did have these melons in their home should clean their refrigerator to kill any pathogens. That’s advice that is typically only given when a recall or outbreak is triggered by Listeria monocytogenes bacteria.
And if you have been ill with fever, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea and have eaten these products, contact your doctor. You may be part of this melon Salmonella outbreak. Ask for a Salmonella test.
