Health Law

Greene County, Ohio Salmonella Outbreak Investigation Continues

By Colin Caywood

The outbreak of Salmonella among 4 Greene County, Ohio women within just a few days of each other was the first clue that something was amiss, according to an article in today's Dayton Daily News.  'We don't get four at one time,' GCCHD Health Commissioner Mark McDonnell said. 'Usually, they're scattered throughout the year.'

The investigation into the cause of the infections is continuing and thus far no common link has been identified.

'The four cases are not linked in any way as far as we can tell,' McDonnell said. 'We have to do some basic shoe work to tell what's going on.'

McDonnell said samples were sent to the Ohio Department of Health's laboratory for testing to see which strains are involved in these cases. He said results could be back in about a week.

McDonnell said there are dozens of types of salmonella and different types of transmission, ranging from oral-fecal to reptiles to raw unpasteurized milk.

At this point I just feel bad for the residents of Ohio.  The state has been a hotbed of foodborne illness activity lately, including last month's Salmonella outbreak linked to Casa Lopez in Athens, and the current E. coli O145 outbreak linked to contaminated romaine lettuce manufactured by Freshway Foods and, possibly, grown by Andrew Smith Company in Yuma, Arizona.

Full post as published by Food Poison Blog on May 21, 2010 (boomark / email).