CDC (CenterCenter for Disease Control, Control) released a statement saying, at least one person has died, and eight people were hospitalized because of Salmonella that was linked to ground beef.
In the same statement said, the United States Department of Agriculture, the CDC, and the state-level public health and regulatory officials are all looking into the outbreak of Salmonella Dublin in six different states. Salmonella Dublin is a strain of bacteria that is usually found in cattle, but it can also be transferred to humans, causing their bloodstreams to be infected.
Victims of food poisoning
As of October, there have been ten cases of the Salmonella infection that was linked to ground beef. Eight people have been rushed to the hospital, and one person has died. There was one case in Iowa, Oklahoma, and Texas, two cases in Kansas and California, and three cases in Colorado. It was reported that the person who died was from California.
Officials have not yet identified the common source of the ground beef that was distributed to the six states. Based on the laboratory and epidemiological evidence, it was the ground beef that the victims ate that caused the Salmonella Dublin, and it is now spreading throughout America.
The ages of the victims range from 48 to 74, and 80% of them are male. Their illness began between August to September. The statement says that some illnesses may not have been reported because it takes around two to four weeks between someone getting a sock, and it is reported.
The statement reads that experts were surprised by the high hospitalization rate for Salmonella infections because it is usually around 20%. Salmonella was found in samples of blood from five victims, which indicates that their illnesses may have been more severe.
CDC is not advising the public to stop eating thoroughly cooked ground beef or stopping the public from buying meat from retailers. They are reminding the public not to eat raw or undercooked ground beef and to use a food thermometer to make sure that the meat reaches a safe internal temperature when cooking.
The symptoms of Salmonella include fever, diarrhea, and stomach cramps, and it usually lasts for four to seven days.
What is Salmonella?
Salmonella is a bacteria that causes a foodborne illness called salmonellosis. Every year, almost 1.2 million people are infected with Salmonella, with 23,000 people hospitalized due to the infection and 450 dying from it. This statistic is based on the report published by the U.S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Most people who get Salmonella get the bacteria from contaminated water or food.
There are more than 2,300 kinds of bacteria in the Salmonella genus, according to USDA or the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Salmonella Typhimurium and Salmonella Enteritidis are the most common strains of Salmonella in America, and they are responsible for at least half of all infections.
Contamination usually happens after infected feces come into contact with crops, animals, or water, and people consume those touched items and don't wash their hands.
Humans and animals usually have Salmonella bacteria in their stomach, but acid and intestinal bacteria kill the Salmonella before it can invade the cells and replicate.
