Jun 7, 2008 11:06 pm US/Pacific
Salmonella Tomato Illness In 16 States & Bay Area
CONTRA COSTA COUNTY (CBS 5 / KCBS / AP) ―
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Tainted tomatoes are the likely cause of a sallmonella outbreak.
AP
Salmonella food poisoning first linked to uncooked tomatoes has spread to 16 states, including California, federal health officials said Saturday.
A Bay Area resident is among those who have tested positive for the type of Salmonella linked to the tomato consumption that is believed to have sickened many people across the country.
"(A Contra Costa County woman) was in Chicago three days before she became ill, so we're not sure if she ate whatever made her ill here, or if it was in Chicago," said Francie Wise, with the Contra Costa County Health Department.
So far, 56 cases in Texas and 55 in New Mexico have been tied to raw, uncooked, tomatoes. An additional 50 people have been sickened by the same Salmonella "Saintpaul" infection in Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Oklahoma, Oregon, Utah, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Investigators were trying to determine if raw tomatoes also are responsible for the illnesses in those states, said Arleen Porcell, a CDC spokeswoman.
The source of the tomatoes responsible for the illnesses has not been pinpointed, but health officials in Texas and New Mexico said none of them was grown in those two states.
At least 23 people have been hospitalized, and no deaths have been reported, she said. Patients ranged in age from 1 to 82.
The rarity of the Saintpaul strain and the number of illnesses "suggest that implicated tomatoes are distributed throughout the country," Porcell said.
Interviews conducted with 73 people found the illnesses began between April 16 and May 27, Porcell indicated.
Cherry tomatoes, grape tomatoes, tomatoes sold with the vine still attached and homegrown tomatoes are likely not the source of the outbreak, health officials said.
Also not associated with the outbreak are raw Roma, red plum and round red tomatoes from Arkansas, California, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Belgium, Canada, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Israel, Netherlands and Puerto Rico, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Association.
Salmonella is a bacteria that lives in the intestinal tracts of humans and other animals. It usually is transmitted to humans by eating food contaminated with animal feces.
Most infected people suffer fever, diarrhea and abdominal cramps starting 12 to 72 hours after infection. The illness tends to last four to seven days. Many people recover without treatment, but severe infection and death is possible.
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(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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