The Ventura County Public Health Department announced a Salmonella Paratyphi outbreak on Monday. Eighteen cases have already been confirmed in Southern California with one case in Santa Barbara County and four in Ventura County. Seven other cases are from out-of-state, most of who had travel to Southern California.
In a statement released to the media, the Ventura County Health Department said the cause of the outbreak remains under investigation. “As of April 17th, 10 out of 10 people who completed detailed food questionnaires stated they had consumed sushi, and over 80 percent reported having eaten raw tuna,” said the Health Department. Twenty percent of affected patients have been hospitalized.
This particular strain of Salmonella had never been seen before March 2015, but the Health Department said that a closely related strain was responsible for a Salmonella outbreak that occurred in California and Hawaii back in 2010. That outbreak was found to be linked to raw tuna imported from Indonesia. “This strain is genetically different from the 2010 strain, so it appears the two strains are unrelated at this time,” noted the Health Department.