The probe in the contaminated chicken continues – Radio WRBI

Washington DC. – Officials from the Center for Disease Control said that a strain of antibiotic-resistant salmonella was causing multiple cases of illness reported in 29 states, including a Hoosier.

Laboratory tests do not determine the source of the raw chicken and no common supplier has been identified. The strain has been demonstrated in samples of various raw chicken products, including pet foods, chicken pieces, chopped pieces of meat and whole chickens. The bacterium has also been found in live chickens. The Food Inspection and Food Safety Department of the US Department of Agriculture is monitoring the outbreak and the CDC investigation is ongoing.

People with this strain experienced stomach pain, cramps, diarrhea and fever 12 to 72 hours after exposure to the bacteria.

Most people infected with salmonella, the most common cause of foodborne illness, get better after four to seven days without treatment. Symptoms can worsen in people with underlying medical conditions, children under 5 and people over 65 because their immune system is usually weaker.

According to the CDC, the epidemic began in January and more people tested positive for this strain until September.

Patients live in California, Washington, Texas, Nebraska, Missouri, Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Louisiana, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Hawaii, Massachusetts and Maine.

For more information from the CDC, click here.