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An ongoing salmonella outbreak from an unknown food source has spread to 29 states, federal health officials have warned.
The outbreak has infected nearly 280 people and more than two dozen have been hospitalized, according to the latest update from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), released on September 23.
Still, there have been no deaths associated with the “rapidly growing epidemic,” according to the CDC.
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The agency has created a map showing where people affected by the salmonella outbreak live.
Texas has the most reported illnesses so far – 81 – followed by Illinois and Virginia, which have 23 and 22 reported cases, respectively.
Minnesota, with 19 illnesses, and Massachusetts, with 10, round out the top five states with the most reported cases.
However, the agency warned that the card may not represent all cases “because many people are recovering without medical attention and are not being tested for salmonella.”
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The CDC said officials in several states collected data as part of a multi-state investigation into an outbreak of salmonella infections in Oranienburg.
The agency added that officials have collected and tested food items from restaurants “where sick people have eaten” but have yet to identify a “food linked to the disease”.
In its latest update, the CDC said a strain of Oranienburg Salmonella was found in a take-out condiment cup containing cilantro and lime – although the container did contain onions at one point, which makes it difficult to identify the source.
“Because multiple foods were present in the container and in the sample that was tested, it is not possible to know which food was contaminated,” the CDC said.
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Authorities are using the information “in conjunction with other available information to help narrow the list of possible foods linked to the disease.”
Each year, the potentially harmful bacteria cause about 1.35 million infections, 26,500 hospitalizations and 420 deaths in the United States, according to the CDC.
Most people infected with the bacteria have diarrhea, fever, and stomach cramps with symptoms lasting up to seven days.
However, in some cases, “people’s illness can be so severe that they need to be hospitalized,” the CDC said.
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