The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued an outbreak advisory Thursday reporting they are investigating eight multistate outbreaks of human Salmonella infections linked to contact with live poultry in backyard flocks.
As of May 25, 2017, 372 people infected with the outbreak strains of Salmonella have been reported from 47 states. A number of Salmonella strains have been implicated: Salmonella Braenderup, Salmonella Enteritidis, Salmonella Hadar, Salmonella I 4,[5],12:i-, Salmonella Indiana, Salmonella Infantis, Salmonella Mbandaka, and Salmonella Typhimurium.
More than a third of the patients are in children less than 5 years of age and 71 people required hospitalization for their illness.
The investigation links the eight outbreaks to contact with live poultry, such as chicks and ducklings, which come from several hatcheries.
Outbreaks linked to contact with live poultry have increased in recent years as more people keep backyard flocks. In 2016, a record number of illnesses were linked to contact with backyard poultry.
The CDC recommends you always wash hands thoroughly with soap and water right after touching live poultry and do not let children younger than 5 years handle or touch chicks, ducklings, or other live poultry without adult supervision.
Related:
- Norovirus outbreak tops 4000 cases in Yolo County
- Yellowstone brucellosis: Control efforts should focus on elk
- Powassan: Maine reports two cases in midcoast residents
- Peru dengue update: More deaths reported through May than in all of 2016
- Cryptosporidium: Discovery and early validation of a drug candidate progresses
One thought on “Salmonella outbreaks linked to live poultry sickens hundreds nationwide”