Over a week ago, Science Times reported a mystery salmonella outbreak that infected 127 people in 25 states that resulted in 18 hospitalizations. However, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that the mystery salmonellosis infections had more than doubled last Thursday, resulting in 279 infections and 26 hospitalizations in 29 states.
Mystery Salmonella Outbreak Infects More People
USA Today reported that the data from CDC show that the disease outbreak has stretched across the United States. In particular, Texas and Oklahoma have topped the most cases with 81 and 40 infections, respectively. Other notable states with Salmonella infections are Minnesota with 19 cases, Virginia with 22 infections, and Illinois with 23 cases.
While the rest of the states that reported salmonellosis were Arkansas (7), California (5), Connecticut (5), Florida (2), Indiana (1), Iowa (1), Kansas (6), Massachusetts (10), Maryland (9), Missouri (3), Michigan (4), New Jersey (4) New Mexico (6), Nebraska (4), New York (2), North Carolina (2), North Dakota (1), Oregon (1), Pennsylvania (4), South Carolina (1), South Dakota (5), Tennessee (1), Utah (2), and Wisconsin (8).
The ages of the patients range from less than a year old to 89 years old, wherein 59% are female. As of now, there are no deaths reported.
The Salmonella outbreak was first detected on September 2, when people started getting sick. The CDC discovered that the mystery outbreak was caused by the strain of Salmonella Oranienburg, although there is no identified exact food source yet. In a tweet, the CDC said that investigators continue to find the food source linked to the infections.
They interviewed affected individuals and tried to find commonalities among them. They asked the patients whether they ate the same kind of food or did their food came from the same source. Additionally, it was also previously reported that they have been looking into restaurants as several subclusters reported going into one.
Local Health Officials Detected Salmonella Oranienburg in Coriander Condiment Cup
Food Poisoning Bulletin reported that local health officials from infected states suspect the condiment cup containing coriander because they found Salmonella Oranienburg in the cup. The CDC said that the condiment cup also contains lime and onions, but the Salmonella strain was not inside them when they were tested.
State and local officials collected food items from restaurants where infected individuals have dined before getting sick. However, there are multiple food items in the condiment cup, making it challenging to know which food was contaminated with Salmonella. Nonetheless, the information they gathered will be used with other information to narrow the list of possible food items linked to the mystery disease outbreak.
But the National Center for Biotechnology Information posted a dendrogram on their website showing that coriander or cilantro tested positive for Salmonella Oranienburg, the strain that caused the recent Salmonella outbreak.
Health officials are now calling for anyone who has eaten at a restaurant, those who bought coriander from a grocery home and brought it home to immediate and became ill or experienced symptoms to immediately contact their doctor as they may be part of the outbreak.
RELATED ARTICLE : Mystery Salmonella Outbreak Strikes 127 People From 25 States, CDC Still Investigating Potential Source
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