As of October 5, 2026, the Monongalia County Health Department in Morgantown, West Virginia is investigating 16 laboratory-confirmed Salmonella infections reported over roughly two weeks, with “a few” hospitalizations for overnight rehydration and no deaths, and no source or common link identified. Health Officer Dr. Brian Huggins told WV MetroNews on October 1 that the department has epidemiologists and biostatisticians working on it and that the true number is probably higher, because most people with Salmonella never get tested.
Sixteen confirmed cases is far above normal for one county in two weeks.
The Dominion Post reported on September 30 that the department had seen a higher-than-normal number of cases within the past two weeks, some hospitalized, none fatal, and no common link among them. By October 1 the count was 16 lab-positive. “It is not hundreds of people; right now we’re seeing 16 cases that were lab-positive,” Dr. Huggins said. Most of the 16 went to an emergency room or urgent care, and a few were kept overnight for intravenous fluids and electrolytes. Nothing has been posted to the department’s newsroom as of this morning; the public record is the two news reports.
No restaurant, food or animal has been identified.
The department has not named a restaurant, a grocery product or an event. Dr. Huggins listed the usual suspects in a Salmonella investigation: raw chicken and eggs, contact with reptiles such as pet turtles, contact with farm animals and their waste, and the produce behind this year’s national outbreaks. Two of those national outbreaks are worth knowing about if you live in Monongalia County. CDC closed a 488-person Salmonella outbreak traced to imported jalapeño peppers on October 2, and a 20-person outbreak linked to small pet turtles, half of them children under five, remains open. The turtle outbreak has no reported West Virginia case. Whether the Morgantown cases match any national strain depends on whole genome sequencing of the patients’ bacteria, which the department has not discussed publicly.
Salmonella symptoms begin six hours to six days after exposure.
CDC describes watery diarrhea that may contain blood or mucus, stomach cramps that can be severe, and fever, sometimes with nausea, vomiting, headache or loss of appetite. Symptoms usually start six hours to six days after infection and last four to seven days. Most people recover without antibiotics. See a doctor for diarrhea or vomiting lasting more than two days, blood in the stool, a fever above 102°F, or signs of dehydration, which can come on quickly in young children and older adults. A stool culture is the only way to confirm Salmonella, and a confirmed case is the only way to be counted.
The department’s advice is hand washing, thorough cooking and keeping raw meat away from everything else.
Wash hands with soap for at least 20 seconds after using the bathroom, changing a diaper, handling raw meat or eggs, or touching a reptile or farm animal. Cook poultry, ground beef and eggs all the way through. Keep raw meat and its juices away from ready-to-eat food. Drink fluids with electrolytes if you are sick, and call your primary care provider if you are having several episodes of diarrhea a day. That advice is sound for any household. It is not a substitute for finding the source, and sixteen people in one county in two weeks almost always have one.
What the public still needs to hear from the county.
The ages of the patients, whether any are children. The onset dates, so people can match their own illness to the cluster. Whether the patients’ isolates have been sequenced and whether they match one another, which is the difference between an outbreak and a bad month. And, once the department knows, the restaurant, product or animal exposure behind it. Marler Clark has represented Salmonella victims in outbreaks traced to restaurants, eggs, poultry and produce for more than thirty years, and the pattern in a county cluster like this one is often a single point of exposure that the interviews find within a few weeks.
I live in Monongalia County and had diarrhea and fever in September. Am I part of this?
Only a stool test can say. If you were sick for more than two days with diarrhea, cramps and fever since mid-September, call your doctor and ask for a stool culture, and call the Monongalia County Health Department to report the illness. Even if you have recovered, your food history helps the investigators find the source.
What foods and animals carry Salmonella?
Raw or undercooked chicken, turkey, eggs and ground beef; raw produce including sprouts, peppers, melons and leafy greens; raw milk and raw flour; and live animals, especially small turtles, backyard chickens, lizards and snakes. The bacteria live in the intestines of healthy animals and get onto food and hands from their droppings.
Can I sue if I got Salmonella from a restaurant or a product?
If your infection is confirmed by a stool culture and the investigation links it to a specific restaurant, food or product, you may have a claim against the business that made, served or sold it. The first step is the stool test; the second is keeping every receipt and remembering where you ate.
Salmonella
Salmonella is a group of bacteria behind one of the most common, and most deadly, foodborne infections in the United States, and it is the leading cause of foodborne hospitalizations and deaths in the country. Symptoms usually appear 6 hours to 6 days after eating contaminated food and include diarrhea, fever and stomach cramps lasting four to seven days. Some people go on to develop reactive arthritis or irritable bowel syndrome that lasts long after the infection is over.
Marler Clark, The Food Safety Law Firm, is the nation’s leading law firm representing victims of Salmonellaoutbreaks. The Salmonella attorneys of Marler Clark have represented thousands of victims of Salmonella and other foodborne illness outbreaks and have recovered over $850 million for clients. Marler Clark is the only law firm in the nation with a practice focused exclusively on foodborne illness litigation. Our Salmonellalawyers have litigated Salmonella cases stemming from outbreaks traced to poultry, eggs, ground beef, produce, peanut butter, flour and pet food, against defendants that include some of the largest food companies in the country. The firm represented victims of the Peanut Corporation of America outbreak, whose owner was criminally convicted and sentenced to twenty-eight years in prison, and it continues to press USDA to declare Salmonella an adulterant in raw chicken.
If you or a family member became ill with a Salmonella infection, including reactive arthritis or irritable bowel syndrome, after consuming food and you are interested in pursuing a legal claim, contact the Marler Clark Salmonella attorneys for a free case evaluation at 1-800-884-9840.
FAQ
*What is Salmonella? Salmonella* is a group of bacteria that live in the intestines of animals and people and spread to food through contaminated water, animal products and food handlers. Infection is called salmonellosis.
*What foods cause Salmonella outbreaks?* Poultry, eggs, ground beef, produce such as sprouts, melons, tomatoes and peppers, peanut butter, flour, spices and even pet food have all caused outbreaks.
*Can Salmonella cause long-term problems?* Yes. Some people develop reactive arthritis, with joint pain that lasts months or years, or irritable bowel syndrome. In severe cases the bacteria spread to the bloodstream, bones, joints or brain.
Who is most at risk? Children under five, adults over 65, pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems are the most likely to be hospitalized.
*Can I sue if I got sick from Salmonella?* Yes. If your infection is confirmed by a stool culture and linked to a contaminated product or a recognized outbreak, you may have a claim against the businesses that made, served or sold the food. Marler Clark offers a free case evaluation.
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