The Tailor Cut fruit Salmonella Javiana outbreak has ended with 165 people sick in 14 states. Seventy-three people were hospitalized because they were so sick. Still, the Centers for Disease control and Prevention (CDC) says that consumers must handle fruit safely to prevent foodborne illness.
The case count by state is: California (1) Colorado (1), Connecticut (1), Delaware (49), Florida (1), Georgia (1), Illinois (1), Massachusetts (1), Minnesota (1), New Jersey (50), New York (7), Pennsylvania (49), Virginia (1), and Washington (1). The totals were so high in New York, Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania because Tailor Cut Produce distributes their product in those states. And 26 schoolchildren in Delaware were sickened with fruit that was given to them at school. Most ill people from the other states said they traveled to at least one of these states before they got sick.
Illness onset dates range from November 7, 2019 to January 11, 2020. The patient age range was from less than 1 to 92. Of 111 ill people who provided information to investigators, 73 were hospitalized, for a hospitalization rate of 66%, which is a very high rate for Salmonella outbreaks. Some of those sickened were in hospitals and nursing homes when they got sick, which may help explain the high hospitalization rate.
Epidemiologic and traceback evidence indicates that cut fruit produced by Tailor Cut Produce of North Brunswick, New Jersey was a likely source of this outbreak. Tailor Cut recalled its Fruit Luau cut fruit mix, which contains cut honeydew melon, cantaloupe, and pineapple for the potential for Salmonella contamination.
If you or a loved one have been sickened in this Salmonella Javiana outbreak, you can contact attorney Fred Pritzker for help by calling 1-888-377-8900 or 612-338-0202.
Investigators used the PulseNet system, a nationwide sub typing network of public health labs, to find people sickened in this outbreak. Whole genome sequencing showed that bacteria taken from ill persons were closely related genetically, which means that people in this outbreak were more likely to be sickened by a common source.
In interviews with ill persons, 94% said they ate cut fruit before they got sick. These people were served this fruit in schools, hotels, hospitals, and long term care facilities, but some did buy cut fruit from a grocery store chain that was not named. While Tailor Cut Produce was identified as the common processor of this fruit, the source of the contamination was not identified.
The symptoms of a Salmonella infection include fever, nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, and diarrhea that may be bloody. If you have eaten cut fruit and have been ill with those symptoms, see your doctor. You may be part of this Tailor Cut fruit Salmonella Javiana outbreak.
