Backyard flocks implicated in Salmonella outbreaks exceed 1000

The summer is over with more than 1,000 people infected with Salmonella because of contamination by flocks of backyard poultry. All but one state has herd outbreaks in their backyard.

The Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that an additional 235 patients were registered in the epidemic registries between July 19 and August 30. Of 1753 Salmonella infections, 175 were hospitalized in 49 states.

Two deaths, one from Texas and one from Ohio, are associated with salmonid outbreaks in the garden this year.

Of 850 people with age information available, 192, or 23%, are children under five.

Epidemiological and laboratory data indicate that likely contact with backyard poultry, such as chicks and ducklings, from several hatcheries is likely the source of these outbreaks.

During the interviews, two out of three patients reported contact with chicks or ducklings before becoming ill. People reported having chicks and ducklings from a number of sources, including farm stores, websites and hatcheries.

Six of the disease-causing strains were identified in samples taken from backyard poultry in California, Minnesota and Ohio and from retail poultry in Michigan and Oregon.

Poultry can carry Salmonella germs that can make people sick. Owners of backyard poultry should always follow the steps to stay healthy around their poultry.

Tips for Backyard Owners

• People can get sick with Salmonella infections of touching backyard poultry or the places where they live and roam. Backyard poultry can carry Salmonella bacteria but appear healthy and clean and show no sign of disease.
• Follow these tips to stay healthy with your garden flock:
• Always wash your hands with soap and water immediately after touching backyard poultry or anything in the area where they live and move.
  • • Adults should supervise hand washing by young children.
  • Use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer containing at least 60% alcohol if water and soap are not readily available.
  • Do not leave backyard poultry inside the house, especially in areas where food or beverages are prepared, served or stored.
  • Set aside a pair of shoes to wear when dealing with poultry and keep them outside the home.
  • Children under 5 years of age, adults 65 years of age and over, and people with health problems or medications that reduce the body's ability to fight germs and disease should not handle or touch chicks , ducklings or other poultry.
  • Do not eat or drink where poultry lives or walks.
  • Do not kiss poultry poultry or cuddle before touching your face or mouth.
  • Stay outdoors when cleaning equipment or equipment used to raise or care for poultry, such as cages or food or water containers.
• For a full list of recommendations, visit the Healthy Pets, Healthy People section on backyard poultry.

Advice to stores that sell or display poultry

• Source birds sold to suppliers who have adopted US Department of Agriculture (USDA) best management practices to mitigate Salmonella and those who voluntarily participate in USDA's USDA-NPIP poultry improvement plan in the United States. Salmonella Program monitored.
• Provide health information to potential poultry owners and buyers before purchase. This should include information on the risk of obtaining a Salmonellacontact infection with poultry.
  • An example of a leaflet describes this risk and also recommends measures to prevent disease.
• Place the health information in clear view where the poultry is displayed.
• Provide hand washing stations or an alcohol-based hand sanitizer containing at least 60% alcohol near the poultry display areas. Tell customers to wash their hands right after leaving these areas.
• Expose poultry out of reach of customers, especially children, to avoid contact.
• Clean and sanitize areas where poultry is exposed between shipments of new poultry. Be sure to remove the debris first so that the disinfectant is applied to a generally clean surface. Apply the disinfectant to the surface during the contact time indicated on the disinfectant label.

Advice to mail hatcheries

• Mail order hatcheries should provide health information to owners and potential buyers prior to the purchase of poultry. This should include information on prevention Salmonella infections by contact with poultry.
  • An example of a leaflet describes this risk and also recommends measures to prevent disease.
• Mail order hatcheries should define steps to prevent contamination and infection of poultry by Salmonella:
• Mail order hatcheries should participate in the voluntary USDA-NPIP U.S. Salmonella Supervised program, in which mail-order hatcheries certify that their herds are being monitored Salmonella bacteria that can cause diseases in humans. This program aims to reduce the incidence of Salmonella Day-to-day poultry in hatcheries and give the poultry industry a better opportunity to reduce the incidence of Salmonella in their products.

Symptoms of Salmonella infection

• Most people infected with Salmonella develop diarrhea, fever and stomach cramps 12 to 72 hours after exposure to the bacteria.
• The disease usually lasts 4 to 7 days and most people recover without treatment.
• In some people, the disease can be so severe that the patient has to be hospitalized. Salmonella the infection can spread from the intestines to the bloodstream and then to other parts of the body.
• In rare cases, Salmonella the infection can cause death unless the person is treated quickly with antibiotics.
• People most at risk of serious illness are children under 5 years of age, adults 65 years of age and older, and people with health problems or medications that reduce the body's ability to fight serious illnesses. germs and disease.
• For more information, see the CDC Salmonella website.

Details of the survey

CDC and public health officials in several states investigate several epidemics Salmonella infections with serotypes Agona, Alachua, Altona, Anatum, Braenderup, Enteritidis, Infantis, Manhattan, Montevideo, Muenchen, Newport and Oranienburg related to contact with backyard poultry. Salmonella the serotype Altona has been added to the survey since the last update.

As of August 23, 2019, a total of 1003 people infected with the epidemic strains of Salmonellareported in 49 states. A list of states and the number of cases in each is on the map page of reported cases.

The illnesses started from January 1, 2019 to August 9, 2019. The sufferers are aged from less than one year to 99 years old and have a median age of 32 years. Of 850 sick people for whom age information is available, 192 (23%) are children under 5 years of age. Fifty-seven percent are women. Of the 605 people for whom information is available, 175 (29%) were hospitalized. Two deaths have been reported.

Whole genome sequence (WGS) analysis of 149 bacterial isolates from diseased individuals predicted antibiotic resistance or decreased susceptibility to one or more of the following drugs: amoxicillin-clavulanic acid, ampicillin , azithromycin, cefitoxin, cefitriaxone, chloramphenicol, chlorophenicol, ciprofloxacin, ficfomycin, gentamicin kanamycin, nalidixic acid, streptomycin, sulfisoxazole, tetracycline and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole. Testing of eight isolates by the CDC National Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance Laboratory (NARMS) laboratory using standard antibiotic susceptibility testing confirmed these results. If antibiotics are needed, this resistance profile may affect the choice of antibiotic.

The WGS analysis of 512 additional isolates from sick people did not show evidence of antibiotic resistance. Tests of 30 of these isolates by the CDC NARMS laboratory using a standard antibiotic susceptibility test confirmed these results.

Six of the disease-causing strains were identified in samples taken from backyard poultry in California, Minnesota, and Ohio, as well as from retail poultry in Michigan and Oregon.

During the interviews, sick people answered questions about contact with animals during the week preceding their illness. Of the 511 respondents, 343 (67%) reported having been in contact with backyard poultry before becoming ill. Sick people reported purchasing poultry from a variety of sources, including farm stores, websites and hatcheries.

Backyard poultry from several hatcheries is probably the source of these outbreaks. No matter where the birds are bought, they can carry Salmonella the germs that can make people sick. Owners of backyard poultry should always follow the steps to stay healthy around their poultry.

This survey is ongoing and the CDC will provide updates as more information becomes available.

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