Salmonella Food Poisoning Linked to Raw Tomatoes
2008-06-06 14:02:42 (GMT) (Caymanmama.com - Top Stories News)
Dallas, Texas (Caymanmama.com) — You may remember two years ago when there was an outbreak of E. coli in spinach. It seems yet another produce has been contaminated by animal feces again. Recently, there have been 40 confirmed illnesses in Texas and New Mexico resulting from eating raw tomatoes contaminated with Salmonella.
The U.S. Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention reported that 17 people were hospitalized in New Mexico and Texas and none has resulted in death. There have also been recent outbreaks of Salmonella food poisoning in Utah, Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Idaho, Illinois, and Indiana involving 30 people. It is unknown what has caused the food poisoning in these states however the CDC is investigating to see if they have also consumed contaminated tomatoes in addition to 17 other cases in New Mexico.
CDC epidemiologist Casey Barton Behravesh said the specific type and source of tomatoes are unknown and are under investigation. Although the type of the tomatoes is not verified, in the 40 confirmed cases in New Mexico and Texas, the common factor among all the poisonings have been raw large tomatoes including Roma and red round tomatoes. The 40 patients in Texas and New Mexico have ranged from 3 to 82 years of age. Most of the patients consumed the poisoned tomatoes at restaurants or stores and became ill between April 23 and May 27.
Salmonella is a bacterium that passes from animal or human feces to other people or animals. Humans are usually infected by the contamination of food. Once infected, the patient experiences abdominal cramps within 12 to 72 hours, diarrhea, and fever which will run its course within a matter of four to seven days. Usually recovery without treatment is possible however in some cases it may be severe especially to infants and geriatrics.
Ashley Mathew
Staff Reporter
CaymanMama.com - Press Release Distribution Service
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