As of July 14, 2015, 60 people infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Paratyphi B variant L(+) tartrate(+) have been reported from 11 states. Eleven ill people have been hospitalized. No deaths have been reported.
This outbreak is caused by Salmonella Paratyphi B variant L(+) tartrate(+) bacteria, formerly known as Salmonella Java.
The illness caused by this bacteria typically includes diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps 12-72 hours after an exposure. Salmonella Paratyphi B variant L(+) tartrate(+) does not cause paratyphoid fever, enteric fever, or typhoid fever.
Epidemiologic and laboratory findings indicate that frozen raw tuna is the likely source of the infections.
Most ill people in the outbreak reported eating sushi made with raw tuna in the week before becoming sick.
The Minnesota Department of Health and Department of Agriculture isolated the outbreak strain from samples of unopened frozen raw tuna collected from a Minnesota grocery store where an ill person in this outbreak reported eating tuna sushi. The contaminated frozen raw tuna collected from the store was imported from Indonesia.
Restaurants and retailers should not sell or serve any tuna from the contaminated lot of frozen raw tuna tested by Minnesota imported from Indonesia by Osamu Corporation, or the previously recalled[PDF – 1 page] ground frozen yellowfin tuna also imported from Indonesia by Osamu Corporation.
People at higher risk for serious foodborne illness should not eat any raw fish or raw shellfish, regardless of an ongoing outbreak. These groups include:
- Children younger than 5 years
- Adults older than 65
- Pregnant women
- People with weakened immune systems.
Salmonella: Marler Clark, The Food Safety Law Firm, is the nation’s leading law firm representing victims of Salmonella outbreaks. The Salmonella lawyers of Marler Clark have represented thousands of victims of Salmonella and other foodborne illness outbreaks and have recovered over $600 million for clients. Marler Clark is the only law firm in the nation with a practice focused exclusively on foodborne illness litigation. Our Salmonella lawyers have litigated Salmonella cases stemming from outbreaks traced to a variety of foods, such as cantaloupe, tomatoes, ground turkey, salami, sprouts, cereal, peanut butter, and food served in restaurants. The law firm has brought Salmonella lawsuits against such companies as Cargill, ConAgra, Peanut Corporation of America, Sheetz, Taco Bell, Subway and Wal-Mart.
If you or a family member became ill with a Salmonella infection, including Reactive Arthritis or Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), after consuming food and you’re interested in pursuing a legal claim, contact the Marler Clark Salmonella attorneys for a free case evaluation.