Salmonella Cases in Arizona, California, Idaho and Nevada
State health officials in Arizona, California, Idaho and Nevada are investigating a Salmonella outbreak that has sickened at least 36 people. The cases all involve the same strain of Salmonella and were linked through the PulseNet database of pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) patterns (DNA “fingerprints”).
PFGE patterns (DNA “fingerprints”) of Salmonella and other bacterial foodborne pathogens are submitted electronically to the PulseNet database, which is maintained by the CDC. The PulseNet database of PFGE patterns is available on-demand to state health departments and other participants, allowing for rapid comparison of the patterns. In this case, the PFGE patterns (DNA “fingerprints”) of the Salmonella bacteria that have sickened people in Arizona, California, Idaho and Nevada are the same.
According to the Arizona Department of Health Services, as reported in a story by The Arizona Republic, this specific strain of Salmonella appears to be antibiotic resistant and more virulent than usual, resulting in more hospitalizations than would normally be associated with a Salmonella outbreak.
A food source of the outbreak has not been found, but according to the Arizona Republic story:
Arizona experts believe the outbreak stemmed from an undetermined product sold by a chain store.
However, they aren't certain which food carried the germ or whether it's still being sold. Komatsu [Ken Komatsu, top epidemiologist for the Arizona Department of Health Services] said that no items can be pulled from the shelves without test results providing proof the product has made people ill.
Hunting for the cause of an outbreak is always a challenge, especially for a germ such as salmonella. This bacterium can take a few days to become an active infection, so a consumer suffers abdominal cramps and other symptoms up to seven days after eating a product containing the bacterium, according to the CDC.
"It is often difficult to get a good food history," Komatsu said. "We're asking people to remember what they ate two weeks ago. We're asking where they shop or what they bought."
The department also is trying to work with grocery stores that offer customers a club card to help their investigation.
Those cards can track purchases and could, as long as the grocers agree, help health investigators narrow the list of suspects and identify the contaminated food.
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