Washington D.C. — Officials from the Center for Disease Control say an antibiotic-resistant strain of salmonella is responsible for multiple reports of sickness in 29 states, including one Hoosier.
The source of the raw chicken is unclear from lab tests, and no single common supplier has been identified. The strain has shown up in samples from a variety of raw chicken products including pet food, chicken pieces, ground pieces and whole chickens. The bacteria have also been found in live chickens. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service is monitoring the outbreak, and the CDC’s investigation is ongoing.
People sick with this strain have experienced stomach pain, cramps, diarrhea and fever 12 to 72 hours after exposure to the bacteria.
Most people infected with salmonella, the most frequent cause of foodborne illness, get better in four to seven days without treatment. Symptoms can be worse for people with underlying medical conditions, children under 5 and people older than 65, as they typically have weaker immune systems.
The CDC says the outbreak started in January, and more people have tested positive for this strain through September.
The patients live in California, Washington, Texas, Nebraska, Missouri, Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Louisiana, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Hawaii, Massachusetts and Maine.
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