The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services and Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, are all working to figure out how 14 people, in the hospital for unrelated illnesses, all came down sick with Salmonella at the same time last week, according to Food Safety News.
It is true that Salmonella is often associated with contaminated food, but hospital officials say this is not the case in this outbreak. They added that this is why doctors and nurses wash their hands often.
ClickOnDetroit is reporting the hospital released a statement Tuesday saying: “Seven patients remain in the hospital and are doing well and are isolated as an added safety precaution. No new patients have been identified this week. There’s no evidence at this time that the illness is food related.”
Why is it important to find the source of the outbreak
If it has been confirmed the source of the outbreak is not food, and that is still under investigation, then it is paramount that officials find out what the source is, and where did the Salmonella come from.
The segment of the population most impacted by Salmonella infections are children, the elderly, those with compromised immune systems and people hospitalized with other illnesses. These people are the ones to most likely die from a Salmonella infection.
It is very fortunate that no lives have been lost, because according to the Centers for Disease Control and Infection (CDC), Salmonella causes approximately 1.2 million illnesses in the United States, with 19,000 hospitalizations and 380 deaths every year.
Other ways Salmonella contamination is spread
We have gotten so used to hearing about Salmonella as a food-borne pathogen that we forget some of the other ways this bacteria can be spread. First, to refresh people’s memory, there are many different strains of Salmonella bacteria, and they vary from country to country.
The most typical strains found in the United States include S. typhimurium and S. enteritidis. News releases in the Detroit outbreak have not as yet identified the strain of Salmonella involved. But the overall concern is that some strains of the pathogen have become resistant to antibiotics commonly used to treat Salmonella infections, posing a serious threat to the public’s health.
As we know, Salmonella bacteria can be found in raw poultry, eggs and beef products, as well as on fresh produce we buy at the supermarket. This was demonstrated recently in both frozen chicken breast recalls, and the recall of field cucumbers imported from Mexico.
You can also pick up a Salmonella infection from handling pets, particularly reptiles, such as snakes, frogs, turtles, and lizards. And here’s the most important thing we need to remember about this pathogen; if you do get sick, you don’t always have a rip-roaring infection.
Sometimes, a person can have a stomach ache, or feel “down” for a short time, not realizing they have a Salmonella infection. They don’t exhibit the classical symptoms of the illness, such as diarrhea, fever, headache or abdominal cramps.
Even though you are not showing any symptoms of an infection, you can spread Salmonella to others by not washing your hands before preparing a meal, feeding the baby, or engaging in any of the other mundane tasks of our everyday lives. In fact, health experts recommend that anyone preparing food for others or serving food to others refrain from that job until laboratory tests confirm the bacteria is no longer being carried.
Bottom line, folks: Wash your hands, please.
