As of August 23, 2019, a total of 1003 people infected with the outbreak strains of Salmonella have been reported from 49 states.
Illnesses started on dates from January 1, 2019, to August 9, 2019. Ill people range in age from less than 1 year to 99 years, with a median age of 32 years. Of 850 ill people with age information available, 192 (23%) are children younger than 5 years. Fifty-seven percent are female. Of 605 people with information available, 175 (29%) have been hospitalized. Two deaths have been reported.
Whole genome sequence (WGS) analysis of 149 bacterial isolates from ill people predicted antibiotic resistance or decreased susceptibility to one or more of the following drugs: amoxicillin-clavulanic acid, ampicillin, azithromycin, cefoxitin, ceftriaxone, chloramphenicol, ciprofloxacin, fosfomycin, gentamicin, kanamycin, nalidixic acid, streptomycin, sulfisoxazole, tetracycline, and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole. Testing of eight isolates by CDC’s National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS) laboratory using standard antibiotic susceptibility testing confirmed these results. If antibiotics are needed, this resistance profile may affect the choice of antibiotic.
WGS analysis of an additional 512 isolates from ill people did not show evidence of antibiotic resistance. Testing of 30 of these isolates by CDC’s NARMS laboratory using standard antibiotic susceptibility testing confirmed these results.
Six of the outbreak strains making people sick have been identified in samples collected from backyard poultry environments at people’s homes in California, Minnesota and Ohio, and from poultry environments at retail stores in Michigan and Oregon.
In interviews, ill people answered questions about animal contact in the week before they became ill. Of 511 people interviewed, 343 (67%) reported contact with backyard poultry before becoming ill. Ill people reported buying poultry from various sources, including agricultural stores, websites, and hatcheries.
Backyard poultry from multiple hatcheries are the likely source of these outbreaks. Regardless of where poultry are purchased, they can carry Salmonella germs that can make people sick. Backyard poultry owners should always follow steps to stay healthy around their poultry.
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 $650 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.