Oklahoma Salmonella Outbreak Expands
A growing Oklahoma Salmonella outbreak has drawn the interest of public health investigators, including epidemiologists in Iowa and Nebraska.The outbreak is centered in the Mustang School District in Oklahoma's Canadian County, where 12 elemetary-aged children at four schools have been infected with the same strain of Salmonella. Three adults outside Canadian County also are considered part of the outbreak, including one person hospitalized..jpg)
According to a front-page story about the outbreak in The Oklahoman newspaper, the communicable disease division director for the Oklahoma Health Department says work is still being conducted to determine the cause of the outbreak. "It's still too early in the investigation,'' said the director, Laurence Burnsed. Mr. Burnsed confirmed to the newsapaper that Oklahoma is monitoring the outbreak of a similar strain of Salmonella identified in Iowa and Nebraska. Those states are just reporting a couple of cases so far, he said.
In a letter to Mustang school parents, Deputy Superintendent Belinda Rogers said this week that the Salmonella outbreak is not necessarily related to food preparation, but no one has drawn conclusions yet about what is causing school children to get sick.
A person infected with Salmonella usually has fever, abdominal cramps, and diarrhea beginning 12 to 72 hours after consuming a contaminated food or beverage or coming into contact with the bacteria though other means, such as physical contact with the feces of infected animals or people. The illness usually lasts 4 to 7 days, and most persons recover without antibiotic treatment. However, the diarrhea can be severe, and hospitalization may be required. The elderly, infants, and those with impaired immune systems may have a more serious illness. In these patients, the infection may spread from the intestines to the blood stream, and then to other body sites and can cause death unless the person is treated promptly with antibiotics. One of the long-term health risks of Salmonella infection includes reactive arthritis, or Reiter's Syndrome. About 10 percent of people with Reiter's Syndrome develop heart problems.
Law firm PritzkerOlsen, P.A., has years of experience representing victims of Salmonella and other foodborne illnesses. The firm is conducting its own investigation of the Oklahoma Salmonella outbreak and is providing free case consultations to families whose loved ones have been sickened. Our firm is currently litigating a Salmonella lawsuit and has represented scores of food poisoning victims over the years, collecting millions of dollars in damages for them.
PritzkerOlsen also is actively involved in various efforts to reduce the threat of foodborne illness in the United States, including calling for tougher food safety laws and enforcement. To contact a Salmonella lawyer, call 1-888-377-8900 (TOLL FREE) or complete the contact form on the side of this Web page.
