Thus far, neither the CDC nor the FDA has implicated a specific food item.
According to the CDC, on September 2, 2021, CDC identified an outbreak of 20 Salmonella Oranienburg infections. Since then, the outbreak has grown rapidly.
As of September 21, 2021, 284 people infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Oranienburg have been reported from 29 states. Illnesses started on dates ranging from August 3, 2021 to September 13, 2021.
Arkansas 7, California 5, Connecticut 5, Florida 2, Illinois 28, Indiana 1, Iowa 1, Kansas 6, Maryland 9, Massachusetts 10, Michigan 4, Minnesota 19, Missouri 3, Nebraska 4, New Jersey 4, New Mexico 6, New York 2, North Carolina 2, North Dakota 1, Oklahoma 40, Oregon 1, Pennsylvania 4, South Carolina 1, South Dakota 5, Tennessee 1, Texas 81, Utah, 2, Virginia 22 and Wisconsin 8.
Sick people range in age from less than 1 year to 89 years, with a median age of 35, and 59% are female. Of 86 people with information available, 26 have been hospitalized and no deaths have been reported.
The true number of sick people in an outbreak is likely much higher than the number reported, and the outbreak may not be limited to the states with known illnesses. This is because many people recover without medical care and are not tested for Salmonella. In addition, recent illnesses may not yet be reported as it usually takes 3 to 4 weeks to determine if a sick person is part of an outbreak.
State and local public health officials are interviewing people about the foods they ate in the week before they got sick. CDC is analyzing the data and has not identified a specific food item as a potential source of this outbreak. Several groups of people (“subclusters”) at restaurants in multiple states have been identified. These subclusters are groups of people who do not know one another who ate at the same restaurant and got sick. Investigating these subclusters can sometimes help identify a food item eaten by all of the sick people that could be the source of the outbreak.
However, The National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) shows that of the 275 Salmonella Oranienburg uploaded, 274 Whole Genome Sequence (WGS) “matches” are human and one is cilantro – so, what’s up public health?
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 Clarkhave represented thousands of victims of Salmonella and other foodborne illness outbreaks and have recovered over $800 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.
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