CDC: Salmonella cases in 40 states tied to live poultry

Friday, July 3, 2015
By Paul Martin

Robert Roos
CIDRAP News
Jul 02, 2015

A total of 181 people in 40 states have recently been infected with Salmonella associated with live chicks and ducklings bought from feed stores and hatcheries, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced yesterday.

Thirty-three people have been hospitalized, but no one has died, the agency said. Alabama has the most cases, 17, while most states have fewer than 10. Illness onset dates ranged from Jan 6 to Jun 13.

The CDC said the 181 cases actually represent four separate outbreaks involving different Salmonella serotypes: Enteritidis, Hadar, Indiana, and Muenchen.

Of 95 people who have been interviewed about their exposures, 82 (86%) reported having contact with live poultry before they got sick. Sixty-four people who had purchase records reported buying poultry from 17 different feed supply stores and hatcheries in multiple states.

“Ill people reported purchasing live poultry for backyard flocks to produce eggs or meat, or to keep as pets,” the CDC said. “Many ill people in these outbreaks reported bringing the live poultry into their homes, and others reported kissing or cuddling with the live poultry. These behaviors increase a person’s risk of a Salmonella infection.”

The CDC said it tested Salmonella isolates from seven patients infected with one of the outbreak strains and found no resistance to any of the antibiotics included in the testing program. Testing of additional isolates is ongoing.

The CDC and its partners are using the PulseNet system, a network of labs that conduct DNA fingerprinting of pathogens, to identify cases in the four outbreaks. Basic information on the outbreaks includes:

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