Multistate Outbreak of Salmonella Typhimurium Infections Linked to Cantaloupe

Many patients (31, 48%) reported being hospitalized. Two deaths have been reported in Kentucky

CDC is collaborating with public health officials in several states and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to investigate a multistate outbreak of Salmonella Typhimurium infections. Joint investigation efforts indicate that cantaloupe grown in southwestern Indiana is a likely source of this outbreak.  As a result of the initial investigations by the state health departments in Indiana and Kentucky, a farm in southwestern Indiana has contacted its distributors, which reach outside Indiana into other states, and is withdrawing its cantaloupe from the market place. The farm has agreed to cease distributing cantaloupes for the rest of the growing season.

Public health investigators are using DNA “fingerprints” of Salmonella obtained through diagnostic testing with pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, or PFGE, to identify cases of illness that may be part of this outbreak. They are using data from PulseNet, the national subtyping network made up of state and local public health laboratories and federal food regulatory laboratories that performs molecular surveillance of foodborne infections.

A total of 141 persons infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Typhimurium have been reported from 20 states.  The number of ill people identified in each state is as follows:  Alabama (7), Arkansas (3), California (2), Georgia (1), Illinois (17), Indiana (13), Iowa (7), Kentucky (50), Michigan (6), Minnesota (3), Missouri (9), Mississippi (2), New Jersey (1), North Carolina (3), Ohio (3), Pennsylvania (2), South Carolina (3), Tennessee (6), Texas (1), and Wisconsin (2).

Among persons for whom information is available, illness onset dates range from July 7, 2012 to August 4, 2012. Ill persons range in age from less than 1 to 92 years, with a median age of 49 years old. Fifty-five percent of ill persons are female. Among 64 persons with available information, 31 (48%) patients reported being hospitalized. Two deaths have been reported in Kentucky.

The outbreak can be visually described with a chart showing the number of persons who became ill each day. This chart is called an epidemic curve or epi curve.  This pattern has been seen before in PulseNet, and in the past typically caused 10-15 cases per month. Illnesses that occurred after July 26, 2012, might not be reported yet due to the time it takes between when a person becomes ill and when the illness is reported.

Source: http://www.cdc.gov/salmonella/typhimurium-cantaloupe-08-12/index.html