A salmonella outbreak in the United States, which has led to over 90 illnesses in 19 different states, may have been sparked by contaminated sushi.
A memo distributed to FDA staff yesterday labeled the outbreak as “rapid and expanding in number of cases” and notes spicy tuna rolls as the primary culprit in the investigation at this time.
With over 90 illnesses and 7 hospitalizations in the last few weeks, the FDA is working hard with investigators to find the source of the problem. They cannot, however, confirm that sushi is the definite cause at this point in the investigation. “It is too early to speculate on the cause of the outbreak,” FDA spokesperson Curtis Allen told reporters today.
Most of the illnesses have been limited to the Eastern Seaboard, however, there have been cases reported as far west as Texas and Missouri. At the moment, investigators have honed in on 6 clusters of restaurants in Texas, Wisconsin, Maryland, Rhode Island and Connecticut.
While there have been over 90 cases of illness, there have been no reported deaths at this time.
Symptoms of salmonella include diarrhea, abdominal cramps and fever and will appear anywhere from 8 to 72 hours of eating the contaminated food. The illness can be life-threatening in children and people with weakened immune systems.
We’ll keep you posted as the story develops…
