19 January 2009
Salmonella Outbreak in 43 US States appears linke=
d to
Peanut Butter and Paste
On Saturday and Sunday, January
17-18, the CDC and FDA posted updates on their websites (www.cdc.gov and www.fda.gov) of the ongoi=
ng
investigations into a nation-wide outbreak of Salmonella Typhimurium that
initially appears linked to peanut butter and foods (e.g., cookies, ice cre=
am,
crackers) containing peanut paste.
CDC reported in their Health
Advisory of Saturday, January 17th that 474 persons from 43 states were
reported to be infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Typhimurium.=
At
least 107 of these persons have been hospitalized, and 6 have died. The
states with the largest number of patients as of January 16th are:
The CDC case definition is
"illness in a person with a Salmonella typhimurium infection with illn=
ess
onset (or isolation, if onset date unknown) on or after September 1, 2008, =
and
with an isolate matching an outbreak PFGE pattern." Diarrhea, abdominal
pain, and fever typically occur 12- 72 hours after Salmonella infection and=
the
illness usually lasts 4-7 days.
The FDA has also provided a
very informative and comprehensive update on its investigation an=
d a
list of company product recalls (13) on its website at: www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/
The CDC Health Advisory of Jan=
uary
17 made the following recommendations for consumers:
---"Do not eat products t=
hat
have been recalled and throw them away in a manner that prevents others from
eating them.
---Postpone eating other
peanut butter containing products (such as cooking, crackers, cereal, candy,
and ice cream) until information becomes available about whether that produ=
ct
may be affected."
Daniel R. Lucey, MD, MPH
EROne Institutes, Department of
Emergency Medicine
websi=
te for =
this
posting: www.BePast.org=