At least seven people in Maryland have been sickened by a strain of salmonella sweeping the country.
So far, 388 people in 42 states have become infected by Salmonella typhimurium, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
People started getting sick between Sept. 3 and Dec. 29, and most of the illnesses started after Oct. 1, the CDC said. Eighteen percent of the people have been hospitalized.
Seven cases with the same DNA fingerprint of this strain have been identified in Maryland, and of those, two were hospitalized, according to Dr. David Blythe, state epidemiologist at the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
“As we continue to look for Maryland cases, that number may change,” he said in a statement, adding that an average of 800 to 1,000 salmonella cases are reported in Maryland each year — 40,000 nationwide.
CDC officials are working with local public health officials to identify the contaminated product.
Salmonella can cause fever, diarrhea and abdominal cramps, according to the CDC. A small number of people with salmonella develop joint pain, irritation of the eyes and painful urination, a condition called Reiter’s syndrome, which can last for months or years, and lead to chronic arthritis.
This latest outbreak comes months after Salmonella saintpaul sickened 1,442 people — 39 in Maryland. That outbreak, which ended in August, was linked to jalapeo and serrano peppers from Mexico.
– Sara Michael
