The Axtell Days Salmonella outbreak has sickened five people, and two of those patients are hospitalized, Jill Bronaugh, Communications Director of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, told Food Poisoning Bulletin. She added that there are “multiple anecdotal reports of many people ill after the event.”
That festival was held on August 6, 7, 8, and 9, 2026. The outbreak was identified on August 18, 2026. Axtell is a small town in Marshall county in the northeastern part of the state of Kansas.
The Kansas City Department of Health and Environment has conducted interviews with all five of the laboratory-confirmed patients about what foods were served, where they were sourced from, and how they were prepared.
A foodborne outbreak survey was created and was distributed in the community with the help of the Marshall County Health department and several community partners. There is both a virtual and paper option for completing the survey. Public Health officials are asking that all attendees fill out the survey, whether or not they got sick. Once the investigation and data analysis are complete, officials will release the findings in a report.
You can find the survey at the Kansas DOHE web site. All responses are confidential and private. People who did not get sick are being surveyed to help investigators pinpoint the source of the bacteria.
Salmonella can contaminate any food, and can even contaminate water and ice. Many Salmonella outbreaks have occurred because even though the food was safe to eat, it was held at dangerous temperatures so the pathogen could grow. Sometimes the food itself is contaminated, and was either reheated improperly or didn’t have a kill step to remove pathogens.
If you visited that festival and have been ill with the symptoms of Salmonella food poisoning, see your doctor. You may be part of this outbreak.
Food Poisoning Bulletin will keep you updated on this outbreak and report on any more information from public health officials.
