A backyard poultry Salmonella outbreak has sickened at least 109 people in 29 states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Any backyard poultry, including chickens and ducks, can carry Salmonella bacteria even if they look healthy and clean. The case count by state is: Alabama (6), Arizona (1), Arkansas (5), California (3), Colorado (3), Georgia (2), Illinois (4), Indiana (1), Kansas (4), Louisiana (1), Massachusetts (1), Minnesota (5), Mississippi (3), Missouri (19), Montana (2), Nebraska (6), New Mexico (2), North Carolina (1), Ohio (1), Oklahoma (11) Oregon (2), Pennsylvania (2), Rhode Island (2), South Carolina (1), Tennessee (1), Texas (14), Utah (1), Washington (3), and Wisconsin (2). There are 33 people hospitalized because they are so sick. The … [Read more...]
More Than 100 Sick in Backyard Poultry Salmonella Outbreak
More than 100 people are sick in the United States in another backyard poultry Salmonella outbreak, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). These types of outbreaks happen every year. In 2022, more than 1,200 people were sickened and 255 were hospitalized after contact with these birds. There are three serotypes that are making people sick: Braenderup, Enteritidis, and Infantis. As of May 8, 2023, 104 people sickened with one of the outbreaks trans have been reported from 31 states. The case count by state is: Alabama (1), Arkansas (1), Arizona (1), Florida (1), Georgia (1), Kansas (1), Maryland (1), North Carolina (1), New Hampshire (1), Oregon (1), South Carolina (1), Wyoming (1), Nebraska (2), New Jersey (2), Utah (2), West Virginia (2), Kentucky (3), … [Read more...]
Thinking About Backyard Chickens Because of Egg Prices? Read This First
Are you thinking about keeping backyard chickens because of high egg prices? Read this first, because there are some food safety issues you need to know. The bucolic image of some chickens strutting around your backyard, pecking at the ground and emitting gentle clucks, laying eggs that you can gather warm and fry for your breakfast, is misleading. Taking care of a flock of chickens is a lot of work, and if you aren't careful, an infection can land you or your kids in the hospital with a serious illness, according to the CDC. Every year in recent memory, hundreds of people are sickened and dozens are hospitalized in Salmonella outbreaks after contact with backyard birds. And these numbers are at least 30 times higher than the reported case counts, because the case counts are very … [Read more...]
The CDC is Warning About Bird Flu Detections in Backyard Birds
If you buy chicken at the grocery store, you may have noticed that some products are becoming more scarce. Supply chain issues aside, that may be because the bird flu numbers in poultry are approaching record numbers. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A(H5) virus has now sickened 52,773,869 birds in the United States. The birds that are affected include wild aquatic birds, commercial poultry, and backyard or hobbyist flocks beginning in January 2022. Thees are the first detections of this particular strain in this country since 2016. The illness has been found in 46 states in this country and in 341 countries around the world. In November 2022, the CDC said that 49,000,000 birds in 46 states had either died … [Read more...]
Backyard Poultry Salmonella Outbreak Sickens 219, Hospitalizes 27, 1 Dead
The newest backyard poultry Salmonella outbreak has sickened at least 219 people in 38 states, has hospitalized 27, and one person has died, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). One of these outbreaks usually occurs every year in the United States. Backyard poultry, which includes chicken and ducks, can carry Salmonella bacteria even if they look healthy and clean. And those pathogens can spread anywhere in the areas where the poultry live and roam. People get sick by touching anything where the birds live or the birds themselves, and then touching their mouths or food. Children are especially susceptible to this type of infection transmission because they so often put their fingers in their mouths. The case count by state is: Arizona (7), Arkansas … [Read more...]
This Year’s Backyard Poultry Salmonella Outbreak Investigation Ends
Every year in the United States for the past few years there has been a large multistate Salmonella outbreak linked to backyard poultry. This year's backyard poultry Salmonella outbreak has ended with at least 1,135 people sick in 48 states, D.C., and Puerto Rico, and 273 people hospitalized, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Two people died. But even though the investigation is over, it's important to remember that any backyard poultry can carry Salmonella bacteria that can make you and your family sick. There were six serotypes of Salmonella that made people sick in this outbreak: Salmonella Enteritidis, Hadar, Indiana, Infantis, Mbandaka, and Muenchen. Epidemiologic and laboratory data showed that contact with backyard poultry made people … [Read more...]
Backyard Poultry Salmonella Outbreaks Case Count Skyrockets
The backyard poultry Salmonella outbreaks case count this year has skyrocketed to 672 sick in 47 states, which is an increase of 198 new patients since the last update on June 24, 2021. There are 157 people hospitalized, and two people have died. One in four patients is a child younger than the age of five. There are five serotypes infecting people in these outbreaks: Salmonella Mbandaka, Salmonella Muenchen, Salmonella Enteritidis, Salmonella Hadar, and Salmonella Infantis. The case count by state is: Alabama (7), Arizona (9), Arkansas (5), California (24), Colorado (6), Connecticut (12), Florida (5), Georgia (28), Idaho (2), Illinois (17), Indiana (16) Iowa (26), Kansas (12), Kentucky (27), Louisiana (3), Maine (9), Maryland (13), Massachusetts (14), Michigan (12), Minnesota (30), … [Read more...]
Salmonella Outbreak Linked to Backyard Poultry Sickens 163 in 43 States
A Salmonella outbreak linked to backyard poultry has sickened at least 163 people in 43 states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Thirty-four people have been hospitalized because they are so sick. All people sickened by live poultry in this country in the last 10 years add up to almost 7,000 illnesses. The case count by state is: Arizona (2), Arkansas (2), California (9), Colorado (2), Connecticut (3), Florida (1), Georgia (9), Idaho (1), Illinois (3), Indiana (2), Iowa (11), Kansas (1), Kentucky (5), Louisiana (1), Maine (3), Maryland (3), Massachusetts (3), Michigan (4), Minnesota (3), Mississippi (4), Missouri (4), Montana (4), Nebraska (2), Nevada (1), New Hampshire (3), New … [Read more...]
How To Prevent Salmonella Infections From Backyard Poultry
There have been thousands of human illnesses linked to backyard poultry in the U.S. in the past few years. In 2020 alone, there were 17 multistate outbreaks of Salmonella illnesses linked to contact with poultry in backyard flocks. In fact, in 2020 the number of illnesses linked to live birds was higher than any other past year. In those 17 outbreaks, 1,722 people were sickened, and 333 were hospitalized. One death was reported in Oklahoma. And 24% of those patients were children under the age of 5. Testing of backyard poultry and their environments in Kentucky and Oregon found three of the outbreak strains. The problem is that live poultry can carry Salmonella bacteria even if they look clean and healthy and do not seem sick. It's so easy to contract a Salmonella infection from … [Read more...]
