FRIDAY, Aug. 9 (HealthDay News) —- A major multistate outbreak of salmonella infection linked to baby poultry was reported Friday by U.S. government health officials.
The latest count showed 307 persons in 37 states had been infected with Salmonella Typhimurium, and 60 percent of those sickened were children aged 10 or younger.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in a news release, said “Epidemiologic, laboratory, and traceback findings have linked this outbreak ….. to contact with chicks, ducklings, and other live baby poultry purchased from multiple feed stores and sourced from multiple mail-order hatcheries.”
According to the CDC, the number of ill persons identified in each state was: Alabama (1), Arizona (7), California (9), Colorado (37) Florida (5), Georgia (4), Idaho (3), Illinois (1), Indiana (10), Iowa (7), Kansas (15), Kentucky (4), Louisiana (9), Massachusetts (2), Minnesota (3), Mississippi (6), Missouri (18), Montana (2), Nebraska (14), Nevada (1), New Hampshire (1), New Mexico (16), New York (17), North Dakota (5), Oklahoma (15), Oregon (10), South Carolina (1), Tennessee (2), Texas (32), Utah (10), Vermont (1), Washington (19), West Virginia (1), Wisconsin (5), and Wyoming (4).
The CDC also said that among the 193 sickened persons with available information, 25 percent have been hospitalized.
And they urged consumers to always wash their hands thoroughly with soap and water right after touching live poultry or anything in the area where they live and roam.
It was unclear whether this outbreak was linked to a salmonella outbreak in July that sickened 125 people in 26 states. That outbreak, according to CDC reports at the time, was linked to live poultry from an Ohio hatchery.
More information
For more on salmonella and baby chicks, visit the CDC.
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