If you’re dealing with headaches, vomiting, fever, abdominal cramps, diarrhea, or chills, you’d better see a doctor. You might be infected with Salmonella, the disease that affects roughly 1.35 million people every year in the U.S. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that it’s collecting data for investigating two Salmonella outbreaks across multiple American states.
For that matter, the CDC is collaborating with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA-FSIS) and public health and regulatory officials. One of the outbreaks involves Salmonella Typhimurium, while the other has to do with Salmonella Infantis.
At least 36 people infected were reported
For the new outbreaks, a total of 36 people infected were reported. According to epidemiologic data, Italian-style meats are the likely source of both outbreaks. Twenty-three of the individuals infected are part of the Salmonella Typhimurium outbreak, while 13 are part of the Salmonella Infantis outbreak.
But the CDC fears something even worse, as the agency reveals via its website on cdc.gov:
The true number of sick people in the outbreaks is likely much higher than the number reported, and the outbreaks may not be limited to the states with known illnesses. This is because many people recover without medical care and are not tested for Salmonella. In addition, recent illnesses may not yet be reported as it usually takes 3 to 4 weeks to determine if a sick person is part of an outbreak.
For the Salmonella Typhimurium outbreak, the sick individuals range in ages between 4 and 91 years old. The median age is 44, and 67% of them are males. Of 21 people having information available, 9 got hospitalized, and no deaths were reported.
When it comes to Salmonella Infantis, there was also no death reported, fortunately. Instead, 3 people got hospitalized, of the 10 individuals having information available. The sick individuals range in ages from 1 to 74 years old, while the medium age is 41. 31% of the lot are males.
