574 Illnesses Linked To Salmonella In Chicken
Hundreds and perhaps even thousands of antibiotic-resistant Salmonella illnesses have been linked to a chicken producer in California. The Centers for Disease Control says that 50 new illnesses have been reported in the last two months, bringing the total to 574 who have become sick since March 2013. Meanwhile, none of the company’s products have been recalled.
Seventy-seven percent of those sickened were in California. Illnesses were also reported in 27 other states and Puerto Rico, along with a few other cases on the East Coast, Alaska and Hawaii.
These outbreaks of Salmonella are nothing new to this chicken producer as this company has also been linked to similar outbreaks in 2004 and 2012.
During inspections of this company, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has documented that they found fecal material on carcasses, poor sanitary dressing practices, insanitary food contact surfaces, insanitary nonfood contact surfaces and direct product contamination. In January of 2014, one of the company’s plants was closed after inspectors found cockroaches.
The company stated that they have put new measures in place to protect the public, including tighter screening of birds, better safety on farms where the birds are raised and improved sanitation in its plants.
Recalls of poultry contaminated with Salmonella are no simple matter because of the following reasons:
- Salmonella is very prevalent in poultry and our current laws allow raw chicken to have a certain amount of this bacterium.
- Officials say that if consumers handle and cook poultry properly, the Salmonella will be killed.
- Our government has not declared Salmonella as an adulterant, or illegal in meat, as is E. coli.
- Outbreaks of Salmonella in poultry can take longer to discover and it often takes even more time to demand a recall.
What Are The Symptoms Of Salmonella Poisoning?
Salmonella infection is usually caused by eating raw or undercooked meat, poultry, eggs or egg products. The incubation period ranges from several hours to two days. Some of the signs and symptoms are nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, diarrhea, fever, chills, headache and blood in the stool.
To diagnose if Salmonella is the cause of illness, lab tests are conducted on a person’s stool sample to see if Salmonella is present. Once it is identified as the cause, further testing can determine the specific type.
Most Salmonella infections resolve in five to seven days and do not require treatment. Those patients with severe diarrhea may require rehydration with intravenous fluids. Antibiotic therapy is recommended only for patients with severe illness or those at risk of severe disease or complications, including infants, older adults and immunocompromised persons. Some Salmonella is antibiotic resistant and advanced treatments may be required.
How You Can Prevent Salmonella
Here some tips for preventing Salmonella poisoning:
- Always cook poultry, ground beef and eggs thoroughly.
- If you are in a restaurant and are served undercooked meat, poultry or eggs, you should always send it back to the kitchen for further cooking.
- After being in contact with raw meat or poultry, you should immediately wash your hands, kitchen work surfaces and utensils with soap and water.
- Be particularly careful with foods prepared for infants, the elderly and the immunocompromised.
- Wash your hands with soap and water after handling rodents, reptiles, birds, or baby chicks, and after contact with pet feces.
- Infants or immunocompromised persons should avoid direct or even indirect contact with rodents and reptiles (turtles, iguanas, other lizards, snakes, etc.).
- Never work with raw poultry or meat, and an infant (e.g., feed, change diaper) at the same time.
- A mother’s milk is the safest food for young infants. Breastfeeding prevents salmonellosis and many other health problems.
Termite Terry wants to remind you it is very important that you keep your home or business free of roaches, mice and rats. Termite Terry says, “You wouldn’t believe the number of homes we see with piles of rodent droppings in their attics. In a lot of cases, we even see rodents nesting in heating and air condition systems. This is so unhealthy and dangerous because every time someone turns on the heater or A/C, all of the dust filled with particles of rodent droppings and urine is being pumped throughout their home and their family and pets are inhaling it.
Roaches are a big problem, too. Not only do they spread diseases like salmonella, roaches are a very significant cause of many asthma cases.
Have a problem with mice, rats or roaches? Call our office at (949) 631-7348 and schedule a FREE pest audit, now! You’ll get a lot of valuable information and you’ll learn how you can protect your family and pets.
