Oysters are likely source of Salmonella outbreak
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that 64 people from 22 states have been confirmed to have the outbreak strain of Salmonella Telelkebir. Of the 44 people with available information, 20 required hospitalization.
The actual number of sick people in this outbreak is likely much higher than the number reported, and the outbreak may not be limited to states with known illnesses. Indeed, many people recover without medical care or are not tested for Salmonella. The CDC estimates that for every person confirmed as a patient in a salmonella outbreak, 29 people go undetected.
State and local public health officials interview patients to determine what they have in common. So far, 20 of the 27 people surveyed said they ate raw oysters before getting sick.
Public health investigators are also using the PulseNet system to identify diseases that may be part of this outbreak. CDC PulseNet maintains a national database of DNA fingerprints of bacteria that cause foodborne illness. DNA fingerprinting is done on bacteria using a method called whole genome sequencing (WGS).
WGS showed that bacteria from samples of sick people are closely related genetically. This suggests that people affected by this outbreak may have become ill from the same food.
For now, the Food and Drug Administration has not limited its research to a single brand of oysters. It is not uncommon for oysters to be contaminated with pathogens. Health officials therefore recommend not consuming them raw.
