Personal Injury Law

Salmonella Saintpaul Still Making People Sick; 851 Confirmed Cases Latest Count In 36 States And D.C.

By Marler Clark LLP

Persons infected with the outbreak

strain of Salmonella Saintpaul,

 by state, as of 9pm EST June 29, 2008

Since April, 851 persons infected with Salmonella Saintpaul with the same genetic fingerprint have been identified in 36 states and the District of Columbia. These were identified because clinical laboratories in all states send Salmonella strains from ill persons to their State public health laboratory for characterization. The number of ill persons identified in each state is as follows: Arkansas (10 persons), Arizona (39), California (10), Colorado (11), Connecticut (4), Florida (1), Georgia (18), Idaho (3), Illinois (91), Indiana (11), Kansas (14), Kentucky (1), Maine (1), Maryland (29), Massachusetts (21), Michigan (6), Minnesota (2), Missouri (12), New Hampshire (3), Nevada (4), New Jersey (4), New Mexico (90), New York (26), North Carolina (5), Ohio (6), Oklahoma (19), Oregon (10), Pennsylvania (8), Rhode Island (3), Tennessee (6), Texas (346), Utah (2), Virginia (22), Vermont (2), Washington (4), Wisconsin (6), and the District of Columbia (1).

The map above and the state-by-state breakdown was provided late today (6/30/08); and is complete through yesterday at 9 p.m.   Please note: a.) the increase in the total number of cases to 851; and b.) the latest date for when someone contracted Salmonella Saintpaul has advanced to June 20th, just ten days ago. 

More from the Centers For Disease Control & Prevention can be found in the extended reading section.

 

From the Centers For Disease Control & Prevention (CDC):

An initial epidemiologic investigation comparing foods eaten by ill and well persons identified consumption of raw tomatoes as strongly linked to illness. Recently, many clusters of illnesses have been identified in Texas and other states among persons who ate at restaurants.

These clusters have led us to broaden the investigation to be sure that it encompasses food items that are commonly consumed with tomatoes. Since April, 851 persons infected with Salmonella Saintpaul with the same genetic fingerprint have been identified in 36 states and the District of Columbia. These were identified because clinical laboratories in all states send Salmonella strains from ill persons to their State public health laboratory for characterization.

Among the 581 persons with information available, illnesses began between April 10 and June 20, 2008, including 173 who became ill on June 1 or later. Many steps must occur between a person becoming ill and the determination that the illness was caused by the outbreak strain of Salmonella; these steps take an average of 2-3 weeks.

Therefore, an illness reported today may have begun 2-3 weeks ago. Patients range in age from <1 to 99 years; 49% are female. The number of illnesses is highest among persons 20 to 29 years old; the number of illnesses is lowest in children 10 to 19 years old and persons greater than 60 years old. At least 105 persons were hospitalized. No deaths have been officially attributed to this outbreak. However, a man in his sixties who died in Texas from cancer had an infection with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Saintpaul at the time of his death. The infection may have contributed to his death.

Full post as published by Salmonella Blog on July 01, 2008 (boomark / email).