Screen Shot 2012-05-30 at 8.47.52 PM.pngI have nine seemigly happy heathly chickens in my backyard producing about 60 eggs a week.  Are they Salmonella free?  I guess it is about time to test.

Today, according to the CDC a total of 93 persons infected with outbreak strains of Salmonella Infantis, Salmonella Newport, and Salmonella Lille have been reported from 23 states.

The number of ill persons identified in each state is as follows: Alabama (3), Georgia (3), Illinois (1), Indiana (2), Kentucky (4), Louisiana (1), Massachusetts (1), Maryland (1), Maine (2), Michigan (1), Nebraska (1), New Jersey (1), North Carolina (9), New York (13), Ohio (26), Pennsylvania (9), Rhode Island (1), South Carolina (1), Tennessee (4), Texas (1), Virginia (6), Vermont (1), and West Virginia (1).

18 ill persons have been hospitalized, and one death possibly related to this outbreak is under investigation.

37% of ill persons are children 10 years of age or younger.

Collaborative investigative efforts of local, state, and federal public health and agriculture officials linked this outbreak of human Salmonella infections to exposure to chicks and ducklings from a single mail-order hatchery in Ohio.

Findings of multiple traceback investigations of live chicks and ducklings from homes of ill persons have identified a single mail-order hatchery in Ohio (ANOTHER UNNAMED FACILITY THAT POISONS PEOPLE) as the source of these chicks and ducklings. This is the same mail-order hatchery that was associated with the 2011 outbreak of Salmonella Altona and Salmonella Johannesburg infections.  AND, SO WHY DOES THE CDC NOT NAME THEM?

UPDATE:  Investigations carried out jointly by local, state and federal agencies traced the outbreak to exposure to chicks and ducklings from a single mail-order hatchery in Ohio. The same hatchery – identified last year by the Ohio Department of Agriculture as Mt. Healthy Hatchery – was the source of a similar outbreak around this time last year.  Thanks to Efoodalert.