A Seattle Washington Care Center Salmonella outbreak has sickened 29 p[people and hospitalized six, according to the Seattle King County Health Department. That facility is located at 2821 South Walden Street in Seattle, Washington.
Illness onset dates ranged from July 1 to July 5, 2023. The meal dates were June 29 and June 30, 2023.
The facility is a long term care facility that is not usually open to the public. Officials believe that the outbreak was likely caused by contaminated food served at the facility. The outbreak appears to be over.
The 29 people who were sickened had symptoms consistent with salmonellosis. They include diarrhea, abdominal cramps, nausea, and vomiting. No ill food workers were identified. Eight of the 29 people had confirmatory testing indicating that their illness was caused by Salmonella bacteria. Seven of those eight cases had the same strain of Salmonella based on whole genome sequencing tests. The eighth confirmed case did not have that type of testing done.
On July 3, 2023, Washington Care Center reported the outbreak to Public Health. Officials provided education to the faculty staff to prevent further spread of illness. Education including importance of handwashing, effective cleaning, and sanitation. Public health officials also recommended that sick residents should isolate until they had been symptom-free for at least 24 hours. Communal activities and dining were halted from July 3 through July 7, 2023.
On July 11, 2023, officials from the Washington State Department of Health and the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services visited the Washington Care Center. They conducted interviews with both patients and those who did not get sick to try to identify common exposures. The kitchen was inspected.
Officials found factors that could contribute to the spread of Salmonella. Those problems included potential cross-contamination, inadequate handwashing, and improper glove use.
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