Update: Raw Tuna ‘Likely Source’ of 62 Salmonella Infections in 11 States

(Before It's News)

Update: As of July 22, 62 people have been infected in this outbreak. This article has been updated to reflect the latest case count.

At least 62 people infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Paratyphi B variant L(+) tartrate(+) have been reported from 11 states. Eleven ill people have been hospitalized. No deaths have been reported.

That’s according to the latest update from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which was posted July 15. Other information from CDC’s report:

• This outbreak is caused by Salmonella Paratyphi B variant L(+) tartrate(+) bacteria, formerly known as Salmonella Java.
  • The illness caused by this bacteria typically includes diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps 12-72 hours after an exposure. Salmonella Paratyphi B variant L(+) tartrate(+) does not cause paratyphoid fever, enteric fever, or typhoid fever.

• Epidemiologic and laboratory findings indicate that frozen raw tuna is the likely source of the infections.
  • Most ill people in the outbreak reported eating sushi made with raw tuna in the week before becoming sick.

• The Minnesota Department of Health and Department of Agriculture isolated the outbreak strain from samples of unopened frozen raw tuna collected from a Minnesota grocery store where an ill person in this outbreak reported eating tuna sushi. The contaminated frozen raw tuna collected from the store was imported from Indonesia.
• Restaurants and retailers should not sell or serve any tuna from the contaminated lot of frozen raw tuna tested by Minnesota imported from Indonesia by Osamu Corporation, or the previously recalled ground frozen yellowfin tuna also imported from Indonesia by Osamu Corporation.
• People at higher risk for serious foodborne illness should not eat any raw fish or raw shellfish, regardless of an ongoing outbreak. These groups include:
  • Children younger than 5 years
  • Adults older than 65
  • Pregnant women
  • People with weakened immune systems.
• CDC’s National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System(NARMS) laboratory conducted antibiotic resistance testing on clinical isolates collected from three ill people infected with the outbreak strain.
• Of the three isolates, one was resistant to ampicillin and two were susceptible to all antibiotics tested on the NARMS panel.

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