Digital News Report- A salmonella outbreak has hit 42 states affecting almost 400 people. About one in five victims of the illness have needed to be hospitalized and one person has died, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. California officials are reporting at least 51 salmonella cases in this state alone. California and Ohio have been hit the hardest by the outbreak.
Symptoms have included diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps. People have typically been sick between four and seven days. The cause of the outbreak has not been determined, but health officials have advised the public to wash their hands after handling raw meat and to cook meat thoroughly before consumption. The specific strain has been identified as salmonella typhimurium, which, according to the CDC, is most commonly found in poultry, eggs, un-pasteurized milk, and cheese
The last such outbreak occurred in early 2008, when over 1400 people contracted salmonella from Serrano peppers traced from Mexico. The salmonella outbreak of 2008 occurred in 43 states throughout the United States and in the District of Columbia and was the largest reported outbreak in the U.S. since 1985.
With this outbreak, most patients reported becoming ill in mid-October, but the outbreak has occurred between September 3 and December 29. Patients range in age from younger than 1 year to 103 years.