Salmonella Typhimurium Outbreak Update
Salmonella Typhimurium Outbreak
The latest information from the CDC:
399 persons infected with the outbreak strains of Salmonella Typhimurium have been reported from 42states.The number of ill persons identified in each state is as follows: Alabama (1), Arizona (8), Arkansas (3), California (55), Colorado (9), Connecticut (6), Georgia (5), Hawaii (1), Idaho (10), Illinois (4), Indiana (3), Iowa (1), Kansas (2), Kentucky (3), Maine (3), Maryland (7), Massachusetts (39), Michigan (20), Minnesota (30), Missouri (8), Nebraska (1), New Hampshire (10), New Jersey (13), New York (12), Nevada (6), North Carolina (1), North Dakota (10), Ohio (53), Oklahoma (2), Oregon (5), Pennsylvania (12), Rhode Island (3), South Dakota (2), Tennessee (9), Texas (5), Utah (3), Vermont (4), Virginia (12),Washington (11), West Virginia (2), Wisconsin (3), and Wyoming (2). Among the 380 persons with dates available, illnesses began between September 3 and December 31, 2008, with most illnesses beginning after October 1, 2008. Patients range in age from <1 to 98 years; 49% are female. Among persons with available information, 18% were hospitalized.
One of the 30 people in Minnesota infected with Salmonella Typhimurium has died (Minnesota Salmonella wrongful death information).
Implication of King Nut Peanut Butter
Officials from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) and the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) may have found the source of this Salmonella Typhimurium outbreak. After an MDH epidemiological investigation implicated King Nut creamy peanut butter as a source of the of the outbreak, MDA preliminary testing of the peanut butter indicated the presence of Salmonella bacteria in a 5-pound container of King Nut brand creamy peanut butter.
According to Doug Schultz of the Minnesota Department of Health:
We pulled the sample peanut butter from one of the nursing homes that had ill patients connected to this outbreak. . . We have 30 illnesses in Minnesota that are connected to the outbreak strain and all of those 30 illnesses report eating some type of peanut butter and many if not most of them have been connected to this King Nut brand (USA Today).
DNA fingerprint tests that could confirm whether the Salmonella found in the peanut butter is the same strain that caused illnesses across the United States should be finished Monday or Tuesday, according to Schultz.
King Nut brand peanut butter is distributed to establishments such as nursing homes, hospitals, schools, universities, restaurants, delis, cafeterias and bakeries.
Recall of King Nut Peanut Butter
In response to the findings of Minnesota officials, King Nut Companies, the distributor of King Nut peanut butter, recalled its King Nut brand peanut butter. The following is an excerpt from the King Nut peanut butter recall announcement:
Solon, Ohio (January 10, 2009) - King Nut Companies, a distributor of peanut butter manufactured for them by Peanut Corporation of America, today announced a recall of peanut butter distributed under the King Nut label. No other King Nut products are included in this recall.
King Nut took this action as soon as it was informed that salmonella had been found in an open five-pound tub of King Nut peanut butter. King Nut distributes peanut butter only through food service accounts. It is not sold directly to consumers. King Nut does not supply any of the ingredients for the peanut butter distributed under its label. All other King Nut products are safe and not included in this voluntary recall.
If you have been sickened by this Salmonella Typhimurium outbreak, you may be entitled to compensation. Read how to prove a Salmonella case (King Nut Peanut Butter lawsuit).
