There are at least three large salmonella outbreaks ongoing in the US and Europe with three varied sources implicated in each outbreak.

cucumberTwo of the major outbreaks are taking place in the United States, the larger one is linked to imported cucumbers from Mexico:

Thirty-five additional Salmonella Poona cases from 14 states have been reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) during the past week, bringing the outbreak total to 767 cases.

Florida became the 36th and latest state to report a outbreak case.

The number of ill people reported from each state is as follows: Alabama (1), Alaska (16), Arizona (118), Arkansas (11), California (205), Colorado (18), Florida (1), Hawaii (1), Idaho (24), Illinois (9), Indiana (4), Iowa (6), Kansas (2), Kentucky (1), Louisiana (5), Maryland (1), Minnesota (38), Missouri (12), Montana (15), Nebraska (7), Nevada (14), New Mexico (31), New York (6), North Dakota (6), Ohio (3), Oklahoma (12), Oregon (21), Pennsylvania (2), South Carolina (9), South Dakota (3), Texas (38), Utah (53), Virginia (1), Washington (24), Wisconsin (42), and Wyoming (7).

Four deaths have been reported from Arizona (1), California (1), Oklahoma (1), and Texas (1).

Turtles/CDC
Turtles/CDC

A second multistate Salmonella outbreak in the US has been linked to small turtles. 51 people infected with the outbreak strains of Salmonella were reported from 16 states between January 22, 2015 and September 8, 2015.

15 ill people were hospitalized, and no deaths were reported. 50% of ill people were children 5 years of age or younger.

The multistate outbreak actually consists of two outbreak strains: Salmonella Sandiego and Salmonella Poona.

Eleven people infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Sandiego were reported from six states. The number of ill people identified in each state was as follows: California (4), Illinois (3), Mississippi (1), South Carolina (1), Texas (1), and Vermont (1).

Forty people infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Poona were reported from 13 states. The number of ill people identified in each state was as follows: Arizona (1), California (15), Illinois (2), Kansas (1), Missouri (1), Nevada (1), New Jersey (2), New York (5), North Carolina (1), Ohio (1), Oregon (1), Pennsylvania (3), and Texas (6).

The CDC says contact with reptiles (such as turtles, snakes, and lizards) can be a source of human Salmonella infections. Reptiles can carry Salmonella germs and still appear healthy and clean. Salmonella germs are shed in reptile feces (poop) and can easily contaminate their bodies and anything in areas where these animals live. Reptiles that live in tanks or aquariums can contaminate the water with germs, which can spread to people. Turtles with a shell length of less than 4 inches are a well-known source of human Salmonella infections, especially among young children. Because of this risk, the FDA banned the sale and distribution of these turtles in 1975.

Across the Atlantic in Europe, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) reports that Austrian health officials are investigating an increase in the number of cases of Salmonella Stanley with antibiotic resistance to nalidixic acid and low-level resistance to ciprofloxacin.

Between 1 January and 8 October 2015, 141 cases of non-travel related infection with nalidixic acid/ciprofloxacin resistant S. Stanley were identified in eight of the nine Austrian provinces, with the highest number of cases reported in Upper Austria (n=55) and Tyrol (n=46).

Descriptive epidemiology and microbiological investigation strongly suggested turkey kebab as the source of at least 36 of these cases. Traceback analyses by national authorities identified that the implicated turkey meat distributed in the two outlets in Upper Austria and one in Tirol had been supplied by a single food retailer located in Slovakia. The turkey meat of the Slovakian retailer was suspected to originate from a turkey fattening and slaughtering facility in Hungary already involved in an Austrian S. Stanley cluster in 2014.

Austria/CIA
Austria/CIA