(Newswire.net — February 25, 2013) Los Angeles, CA — The latest food borne illness outbreak being reported by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) involves Salmonella and most likely raw chicken. Washington state and Oregon have identified Foster Farms chicken as the probable source of the outbreaks in their states.
The particular Salmonella strain, known as Salmonella Heidelberg, has caused at least 124 individuals to become ill across 12 states between June 4, 2012 and January 6, 2013. The majority of which are being reported in Washington (56) and Oregon(38). The CDC is not releasing the names of the other states or their infection counts “until it is determined how these illnesses are linked to this outbreak”, according to their posted outbreak announcement. Stay posted.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA-FSIS) continues to investigate the cases in an effort to identify the source and eliminate the cause.
The majority of the infected individuals interviewed (81%) reported consuming chicken the week before experiencing symptoms. Fifty-five percent of those ill are female. No deaths have been reported but about a third of those with available information report being hospitalized.
Symptoms appear between 8-72 hours after eating and can last 4 to 7 days. Symptoms include abdominal pain (nausea and stomach cramps), diarrhea, vomiting, chills, headache and dehydration.
What are the best things we can do to prevent the spread of this potentially deadly infection? Here are the primary prevention strategies:
- Assume all raw chicken is contaminated. Thoroughly wash everything that comes in contact with raw chicken with warm or hot soapy water. Salmonella is not the only food poisoning microorganism common to chicken. Staphylococcus areaus and Campylobacter are also common food poisoning bacteria found on raw chicken.
- If you like to wash down your chicken before cooking or seasoning, be careful of the water splatter. Some experts recommend not washing the chicken because of this potential danger.
- Freezing does not kill the microbes. Don’t assume deep freezing or freezing for long periods of time will sterile foods.
- Thoroughly cook the chicken to an internal temperature of 160 degrees F. Use a probe thermometer to confirm.
If you or someone you know is showing signs of a food poisoning, it’s best, at minimum, to contact or go see your doctor. If a child, elderly person, pregnant woman or someone who is already ill or immune-compromised is showing these symptoms, do not hesitate to immediately seek medical help or get them to a hospital emergency room. These individuals are at greatest risk of severe reactions including death.
For more information on Salmonella signs and symptoms and prevention visit: http://www.foodpoisoningprevention.com/Salmonella.htm
Stay posted with updates on this at: http://www.cdc.gov/salmonella/heidelberg-02-13/index.html