Will more cases be reported in Cargill’s ground turkey Salmonella outbreak?  To date, 107 illnesses and one death due to infection by antibiotic resistant Salmonella Heidelberg.  Consumers need to still be wary of potentially contaminated product.  Given the widespread distribution of recalled 36 million pounds of product, it may still be in many freezers.  People have gotten ill before in large numbers from already-recalled product.  The above chart shows how many people became ill AFTER the October 11, 2007 recall of Con Agra pot pies. 

A total of 107 persons infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Heidelberg have been reported from 31 states between February 27 and August 9, 2011. Michigan, Illinois, and Ohio have the most illnesses, with 35 total sick.  The number of ill persons identified in each state is as follows: Alabama (1), Arkansas (1), Arizona (3), California (6), Colorado (2), Georgia (2), Illinois (13), Indiana (1), Iowa (2), Kansas (1), Kentucky (2), Louisiana (1), Massachusetts (3), Maryland (1), Michigan (12), Minnesota (2), Mississippi (1), Missouri (4), Nebraska (2), Nevada (1), New York (2), North Carolina (3), Ohio (10), Oklahoma (1), Oregon (1), Pennsylvania (5), South Dakota (3), Tennessee (2), Texas (14), Utah (1), and Wisconsin (4).

We will file suit tomorrow on behalf of Ruby Lee, a one year old from Troutdale, Oregon who spent 7 days in the hospital as a result of her Salmonella Heidelberg infection from ground turkey.