Just months after salmonella Saintpaul caused more than 1,400 illnesses all over the United States, the infection is hitting again, this time under a new form. Salmonella Typhimurium has infected a total of 388 people in 42 states, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The same strain of salmonella spread to 21 states late last year, causing at least 183 people to become ill. No deaths were recorded though.
This time, the infection might have killed a person, an elderly woman in Minnesota being diagnosed with the infection when she died, although it was not 100 percent sure that salmonella was the cause. Also, nearly 70 people needed hospitalization.
Salmonella Typhimurium is one of the most common types of the 2,500 known types of this infection. However, the symptoms are usually the same in all types of infection with this bacterium. Patients usually develop diarrhea, fever and experience abdominal cramps 12 to 17 hours after the infection. It usually lasts a week.
Most people recover from salmonella illness without special treatment, but cases of severe diarrhea require medical attention and there’s a risk of infection spreading from the intestines to the bloodstream, a condition that could turn fatal. Children and the elderly are especially at risk of infection as their immune system is either weakened or not ready to fight such an infection. The infection can be treated with antibiotics although sometimes it may not respond to this kind of treatment according to the CDC Web site.
The bad news is that officials have not found the source of the current salmonella outbreak. The CDC is currently working with experts from the Food and Drug Administration and the US Department of Agriculture and hope they will have an answer very soon. However, they warned that finding the source might be difficult. CDC spokesman David Daigle said people “may not remember the foods they recently ate and may not be aware of all the ingredients in food,” which makes “these types of investigations very difficult.” At the moment, CDC officials are interviewing infected people to find a common cause of the outbreak.
Previous salmonella outbreaks have been linked to eggs, meat, poultry, vegetables, pet food and even peanut butter.
Given the circumstances, people have to pay attention at what they are eating and take measures in order to prevent infection with salmonella. The best way to do it is to wash hands thoroughly before handling food and between handling different food items. Also, cutting boards, counters, knives and other utensils should be washed thoroughly after touching uncooked foods. In fact, Daigle recommended people not eat raw or undercooked eggs, poultry, or meat, or consume raw or unpasteurized milk or other dairy products.