Cucumbers linked to 73 becoming ill from Salmonella

UPDATE 5/8/13  CDC  - 81 people  infected from 18 states with 29% hospitalized.
http://www.cdc.gov/salmonella/saintpaul-04-13/index.html

CDC is reporting that 73 people have become ill from eating cucumbers contaminated with Salmonella. The cucumbers are from one Mexican producer, and that producer has been put on an import alert by FDA.

According to the CDC report (below): A total of 73 persons infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Saintpaul have been reported from 18 states. The number of ill persons identified in each state is as follows: Arizona (9), California (28), Colorado (1), Idaho (2), Illinois (3), Louisiana (1), Massachusetts (1), Maryland (1), Minnesota (8), Nevada (1), New Mexic0 (2), North Carolina (1), Ohio (1), Oregon (2), South Dakota (2), Texas (6), Virginia (2), and Wisconsin (2).

Multistate Outbreak of Salmonella Saintpaul Infections Linked to Imported Cucumbers

Posted April 25, 2013 12:30 PM ET http://www.cdc.gov/salmonella/saintpaul-04-13/index.html

Highlights
· Read the Advice to Consumers »
· A total of 73 persons infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Saintpaul have been reported from 18 states.
o 27% of ill persons have been hospitalized, and no deaths have been reported.
· State public health officials are interviewing ill persons to obtain information regarding foods they might have eaten and other exposures in the week before illness.
o Preliminary information indicates that consumption of imported cucumbers is the likely source of infection for the ill persons.
· On April 24, 2013, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration placed Daniel Cardenas Izabal and Miracle Greenhouse of Culiacán, Mexico on Import Alert .
o Cucumbers from these two firms will be denied admission into the United States unless the suppliers show that they are not contaminated with Salmonella.
· Currently, there is no evidence that contaminated cucumbers supplied by Daniel Cardenas Izabal and Miracle Greenhouse are still on the market.
o Due to the time it takes between when a person becomes ill and when the illness is reported, additional ill persons may be identified.
o Consumers and retailers should always follow safe produce handling recommendations . 
· CDC and state and local public health partners are continuing laboratory surveillance through PulseNet to identify additional ill persons and to interview ill persons about foods eaten with before becoming ill. 

April 25, 2013
CDC is collaborating with public health officials in many states and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to investigate an outbreak of Salmonella Saintpaul infections linked to imported cucumbers supplied by Daniel Cardenas Izabal and Miracle Greenhouse of Culiacán, Mexico and distributed by Tricar Sales, Inc. of Rio Rico, Arizona.

Public health investigators are using the PulseNet system to identify cases of illness that may be part of this outbreak. In PulseNet, the national subtyping network of public health and food regulatory agency laboratories coordinated by CDC, DNA "fingerprints" of Salmonella bacteria are obtained through diagnostic testing with pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, or PFGE, to identify cases of illness that may be part of this outbreak.

A total of 73 persons infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Saintpaul have been reported from 18 states. The number of ill persons identified in each state is as follows: Arizona (9), California (28), Colorado (1), Idaho (2), Illinois (3), Louisiana (1), Massachusetts (1), Maryland (1), Minnesota (8), Nevada (1), New Mexic0 (2), North Carolina (1), Ohio (1), Oregon (2), South Dakota (2), Texas (6), Virginia (2), and Wisconsin (2).

Among persons for whom information was available, illness onset dates range from January 12, 2013 to April 6, 2013. Ill persons range in age from less than 1 year to 80 years, with a median age of 23 years. Sixty percent of ill persons are female. Among 51 persons with available information, 14 (27%) ill persons have been hospitalized. No deaths have been reported.

This outbreak can be visually described with a chart showing the number of persons who became ill each day. This chart is called an epidemic curve or epi curve. Illnesses that occurred after March 23, 2013 might not yet be reported due to the time it takes between when a person becomes ill and when the illness is reported. This takes an average of 2 to 3 weeks. Please see the Salmonella Outbreak Investigations: Timeline for Reporting Cases for more details.

Investigation of the Outbreak
Preliminary epidemiologic, laboratory, and traceback investigations conducted by officials in local, state, and federal public health, agriculture, and regulatory agencies indicate that exposure to imported cucumbers supplied by Daniel Cardenas Izabal and Miracle Greenhouse of Culiacán, Mexico and distributed by Tricar Sales, Inc. of Rio Rico, Arizona is the likely source of this outbreak of Salmonella Saintpaul infections.

In interviews, ill persons answered questions about foods eaten and other exposures during the week before becoming ill. Thirty (67%) of 45 ill persons interviewed reported eating various types of cucumbers purchased or consumed at multiple locations or restaurants. This proportion is significantly higher than results from a survey of healthy persons [PDF - 787 KB] in which 44% reported eating cucumbers in the 7 days before they were interviewed. An additional 5 (11%) of 45 ill persons reported that they may have eaten cucumbers. No other foods that were reported eaten by interviewees were associated with illness.

Reviewing shipping records, with assistance from its partner state agencies, FDA traced cucumbers eaten by six ill people to the distributer, Tricar Sales, Inc., and further, to the suppliers, Daniel Cardenas Izabal and Miracle Greenhouse. On April 24, 2013, the suppliers were placed on Import Alert . Cucumbers from these two firms will be denied admission into the United States unless the suppliers show that they are not contaminated with Salmonella.

The number of illnesses reported has declined substantially since a peak in early March. Currently, there is no evidence that contaminated cucumbers are still on the market. However, due to the time it takes between when a person becomes ill and when the illness is reported, additional ill persons may be identified. CDC and state and local public health partners are continuing laboratory surveillance through PulseNet to identify additional ill persons and to interview ill persons about foods eaten with before becoming ill.

 Salmonella-tainted Mexican cucumbers sicken 73

Elizabeth Weise, USA TODAY10:35 a.m. EDT April 26, 2013http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/04/25/mexican-cucumbers-salmonalla-sicken-73/2113503/

Cucumbers from growers linked to a salmonella outbreak are off the market now.

Tainted Mexican cucumbers have been linked to a salmonella outbreak that has sickened at least 73 people in 18 states. The Food and Drug Administration is blocking cucumbers at the border from the two growers linked to the outbreak.

No one has died in the outbreak, but 27% of the people who got sick have been hospitalized, said Lola Russell, a spokeswoman for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

All of the contaminated cucumbers are now off the market, she said.

The first cases of the outbreak strain of salmonella Saintpaul appeared in January and the last-known case began April 6, Russell said.

On Wednesday, the FDA placed Daniel Cardenas Izabal and Miracle Greenhouse of Culiacán, Mexico, on import alert, meaning cucumbers from both firms will be blocked unless the suppliers can prove they are not contaminated with salmonella. The cucumbers were distributed in the United States by Tricar Sales of Rio Rico, Ariz.

People who have eaten foods contaminated with salmonella can develop diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps within 12 to 72 hours. According to the CDC, the illness usually lasts four to seven days, and most people recover without treatment.