Food Poisoning Lawyer & Attorney : Marler Clark : Food Poison Blog

Over three dozen people in Arizona, California, Idaho, and Nevada have become ill with a strain of Salmonella since early October, according to reports in the Tucson Citizen and Arizona Republic.  Public health officials from the four states are investigating the source of the outbreak, and presently believe the source to be a food item. 

The Tucson Citizen reported on the outbreak:

Though salmonella outbreaks are not unusual, authorities are trying to identify a common source. A store chain, but likely not a restaurant, may have distributed a food product that hospitalized a dozen people — seven from Arizona — said Shoana Anderson, an infectious disease epidemiologist in Phoenix.

Arizona had 14 cases in all, California 18, Nevada three and Idaho one, Anderson and food-borne disease epidemiologist Joli Weiss said. The illnesses were reported between between Oct. 4 and Nov. 9 and all involved the same strain of the disease.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, most people infected with Salmonella develop diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps 12–72 hours after infection. Infection is usually diagnosed by culture of a stool sample. The illness usually lasts 4 – 7 days. Although most people recover without treatment, severe infections may occur. Infants, elderly persons, and people with impaired immune systems are more likely than others to develop severe illness. In severe infection, Salmonella spreads from the intestines to the bloodstream and then to other body sites, and death can occur if the person is not treated promptly with antibiotics.

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Idaho health officials are warning that a Salmonella outbreak in southern Idaho has been ongoing since mid-September.  KTRV TV reported on the outbreak:

A number of Salmonella infections have been reported across southern Idaho since mid September.

Experts at the Idaho Health and Welfare Department believe they could be linked to undercooked chicken pot pies.

Residents are being warned to follow cooking instructions carefully -- since some frozen convenience foods are not pre-cooked.

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The Reno Gazette-Journal's Jason Hidalgo reported on the reopen of Jazmine, a restaurant that was recently identified as the source of a Salmonella outbreak, yesterday - the same day that the International Food Safety Network came out with an infosheet about the outbreak.  From the Gazette-Journal article:

Jazmine was ordered closed by the Washoe County District health Department on Aug. 23 after it tested positive for salmonella. The restaurant, which serves up popular Asian fare such as pot stickers, dim sum dumplings, pork ribs and sushi, re-opened its doors for dinner on Aug. 29. The restaurant could have opened two days earlier but had to wait for most of its employees to get approved to return to work.

Despite receiving a clean bill of health to operate again, the restaurant is still struggling to get back customers who have stayed away following the incident.
“Business has dropped tremendously,” said manager and co-owner David Tran. “We’ve lost more than half of our business right now.”

The health department hasn’t been able to trace the source of the outbreak to any particular food in the restaurant. That makes it likely that the source of the outbreak was an infected food handler, said Randall Todd, director of epidemiology at the district health department.

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Today's Altoona Mirror reported on a hearing yesterday regarding the Sheetz Salmonella outbreak of 2004.  At yesterday's hearing, a Blair County Judge dismissed eight defendants from the case, stating that Sheetz and the company who supplied Salmonella-contamianted tomatoes to Sheetz, Coronet Foods, had not provided enough proof to implicate one or more Coronet suppliers as the source of the contaminated tomatoes.

From the Mirror:

President Judge Jolene G. Kopriva said in an opinion that “it is impossible to track back and differentiate which particular supplier sold the one or many contaminated tomato[es].”

For the sake of consumer protection and safety, she called for better record keeping from the farm to the salad bar.

Sheetz Salmonella outbreak background

In early July 2004, the Pennsylvania Department of Health (PDOH) notified the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that an apparent foodborne outbreak was occurring and that cases of Salmonella javiana might be reported in other states. Active case finding was expanded to include nearby states. Ohio, Maryland, and West Virginia all reported an increase in Salmonella javiana cases.

On July 16, 2004 when the PDOH issued a Health Advisory, stating that an outbreak of Salmonella javiana with more than 70 reported cases had been associated with eating at Sheetz deli counters throughout the state. On July 30, 2004, the PDOH issued a new Health Update regarding the outbreak. Over 300 cases had been reported in Pennsylvania, and dozens more in adjoining states, and yet another related Health Update on August 6, 2004. By then, over 330 cases of Salmonella javiana had been recorded in Pennsylvania, and over 80 cases in neighboring states.

Ultimately, as many as 564 confirmed cases of salmonellosis associated with consumption of contaminated tomatoes were reported in five states: Pennsylvania, Maryland, Ohio, West Virginia, and Virginia. Seventy percent were associated with tomatoes in food prepared at Sheetz convenience stores, which received tomatoes from Coronet Foods of Wheeling, West Virginia. Five separate serotypes of Salmonella were eventually associated with the outbreak.

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Pennsylvania health officials are investigating a Salmonella outbreak that may have been caused by close contact with dogs that ate Salmonella-contaminated food.  Lancaster online reported today:

The illness being investigated by the health department is caused by an uncommon strain of salmonella called schwarzengrund. Most of the infections occurred in households with pets or where people are in close contact with pets, but there is no evidence any human consumed pet food.

"While the department is working very closely with federal investigators to identify a specific cause and source for these illnesses, it is important that pet owners understand and follow steps to prevent salmonella infection from occurring," state Health Secretary Dr. Calvin B. Johnson said.

Newsinferno also covered the story:

The Pennsylvania Department of Health said that it is working in conjunction with the Food and Drug Administration to determine the source of the Salmonella poisoning. There are usually around 2,000 cases of Salmonella in Pennsylvania each year. The Pennsylvania outbreak is only the latest bout of Salmonella poisoning to make news recently. In February, more than 600 people were sickened by Salmonella-tainted Peter Pan and Good Value brand peanut butters. This summer, another outbreak that sickened nearly 100 people was traced to seasoning used on Veggie Booty snack mix. And in July, over 700 people in the Chicago area became ill from Salmonella after they ate at the Pars Cove Restaurant food booth at the Taste of Chicago Food Festival.

The Pennsylvania Department of Health issued recommendations for purchasing and properly handling dry dog food in a press release that also contained information about the outbreak:

Since January 2006, Pennsylvania has identified 21 individuals with illness caused by a specific strain of Salmonella serotype Schwarzengrund. Many of the illnesses linked to this strain involve infants and young children, who are especially vulnerable to Salmonella infections. Most of the cases have occurred in households with pets or where people are in close contact with pets, but there is no evidence that any human consumed pet food.

“While the department is working very closely with federal investigators to identify a specific cause and source for these illnesses, it is important that pet owners understand and follow steps to prevent Salmonella infection from occurring,” Dr. Johnson said.

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Grant County, Washington, health officials have reported that a Salmonella outbreak in the county has sickened 11 people since February.  Seven people have been confirmed ill with Salmonella senftenberg since the outbreak began, and four possible cases have submitted samples for testing. 

The Columbia Basin Herald interviewed Grant County health officer Alexander Brzezny for its story on the outbreak:

In the past three weeks the cases in Grant County have been connected through DNA as all being from the same bug, Brzezny said. The health district has several leads on the origin, he said.

"If we find out where it's coming from, I think it's going to be very publishable data because it's rare and it's in Grant County," he said.

Senftenberg salmonella was only discovered in the 1990s, Brzezny noted.

He said the cases in Grant County seem to be isolated and not part of a broad, countywide outbreak.

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