Another person has died in a Salmonella outbreak linked to backyard poultry flocks. It is the largest Salmonella outbreak this year.
There have been no recalls issued for the live animals and won't be because neither FDA nor USDA have regulations regarding backyard flocks. Although health officials say seven hatcheries are linked to the outbreak, no company has been named by investigators.
All of the patients reported contact with backyard flocks of chickens and/or ducks.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is reporting that there are 1,061 patients, up by 247 since its last update on July 27. The outbreak stretches across 46 states and Puerto Rico. Two deaths have been reported in Washington and Georgia. A fourth of the patients are children younger than 5 years old.
The worst backyard poultry outbreak year CDC has recorded was 2019 when 1,134 cases were reported in 49 states, with 219 hospitalizations and two deaths, at final count in October.
There are likely tens of thousands more patients in this year's outbreak because for every person confirmed in a Salmonella outbreak 29 are undetected. This is because some people do not seek medical treatment and others are not specifically tested for Salmonella, according to the CDC.
In this year’s outbreak, of 717 patients with complete information available, 324 report being hospitalized. That’s a hospitalization rate of 33.3 percent, which is higher than usual for Salmonella outbreaks. Illness onset began Jan. 20 and runs through Aug. 6. Additional patients are expected to be identified because it can take four to six weeks for cases to be confirmed and sent to the CDC to be included in the official count.
The outbreak patients have been infected by several strains of Salmonella, including Altona, Enteritidis, Indiana, Infantis, Kedougou, Mbandaka and Saintpaul.
Laboratory work in Idaho, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Oregon and Tennessee sampled backyard birds and the insides of the boxes used to ship live poultry from hatcheries to retail stores. Whole genome sequencing matched the Enteritidis, Mbandaka, Kedougou and Saintpaul in those samples to the strains in sick people.
The CDC’s guidance is that children younger than five should not handle chicks or ducklings at all. The birds can look perfectly healthy but still carry Salmonella. And, the germs spread to everything in the area where the birds live and roam — bedding, feeders, water, boots and hands.
About Salmonella infections
Anyone can become sick with a Salmonella infection. Infants, children, seniors, and people with weakened immune systems are at higher risk of serious illness because their immune systems are fragile.
Anyone who has interacted with backyard poultry and developed symptoms of Salmonella infection should seek medical attention. Sick people should tell their doctors about the possible exposure to Salmonella bacteria because special tests are necessary to diagnose salmonellosis. Salmonella infection symptoms can mimic other illnesses, frequently leading to misdiagnosis.
Symptoms of Salmonella infection can include diarrhea, abdominal cramps, and fever within 12 to 72 hours after eating contaminated food. Otherwise, healthy adults are usually sick for four to seven days. In some cases, however, diarrhea may be so severe that patients require hospitalization.
Older adults, children, pregnant women, and people with weakened immune systems, such as cancer patients, are more likely to develop a severe illness and serious, sometimes life-threatening conditions.
Some people get infected without getting sick or showing any symptoms. However, they may still spread the infections to others.
