A Press Officer for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Candice Burns Hoffman, told Food Poisoning Bulletin that as of March 22, 2021, there are 24 people in 11 states sickened in the Salmonella Hadar turkey outbreak listed on the USDA’s outbreak investigation table.
We don’t know the states where the ill persons live, the patient age range, or illness onset date, or if anyone has been hospitalized. But we do now know that patients reported eating a variety of turkey products before they got sick. The outbreak table simply states that turkey is suspected in this outbreak, and that the outbreak investigation is active.
A specific brand of type of turkey products has not yet been identified. The CDC is collecting more data to try to determine the source of these infections. The outbreak table states that the government will not provide more information about outbreaks unless a FSIS-regulated product has been linked to the illness, if there is a public health alert, and/or if there is an after-action review report.
There have been outbreaks linked to turkey products in the past, although Salmonella Hadar is a relatively uncommon serotype of this pathogen.
The last Salmonella Hadar outbreak associated with turkey products took place 10 years ago, in 2011. That outbreak was associated with turkey burgers, more specifically, Jennie-O turkey burgers.
The government found the outbreak strain of Salmonella Hadar in samples of Jennie-O ground turkey burgers that were collected from homes of patients in Wisconsin and Colorado.
Symptoms of a Salmonella infection include fever, nausea, vomiting, abdominal and stomach pain and cramps, and diarrhea that may be bloody. People usually start to feel sick 12 to 72 hours after infection. The illness usually lasts 4 to 7 days, and most people recover without medical treatment.
If you or a loved one have been sickened with a Salmonella Hadar infection after eating turkey products, please contact our experienced attorneys for help at 1-888-377-8900 or 612-338-0202.
