The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have concluded their investigation of a salmonella outbreak in the Midwest that sickened 265 people in eight states. One death occurred, and 94 people had to be hospitalized.
The CDC used a system called PulseNet to track the outbreak, which uses DNA fingerprinting; in this case, the data was obtained from samples taken from affected individuals. The outbreak was traced back to chicken salad made by Triple T Speciality Meats. It was sold in Fairway food stores from January 4 to February 9, and the recall began February 21.
Some of the bacterial isolates harbored by patients contained antibiotic resistance genes. In these cases, those genes did not interfere with effective treatment.
Salmonella infections typically cause fever, diarrhea, and cramps. The illness usually lasts for about a week. While most people recover, there can be severe cases that go on for months.
