Cause of Recent Salmonella Outbreak Uncertain
The outbreak of salmonella poisoning that began back in April and has sickened 869 people has health officials stymied as to the cause.
In June alone, 179 people fell ill to salmonella. Tomatoes were blamed initially and taken off shelves and off menus at restaurants around the nation; however, they are obviously not the only culprit as people continue to become sick.
“Disease detectives” with the Center for Disease Control have been interviewing victims of the outbreak about their diets at the time they became ill, and looking for any possible commonalities. Officials wonder whether foods or vegetables commonly served with tomatoes may be the real cause, but are remaining tight-lipped about specifics. Dr. David Acheson, chief of food safety with the Food and Drug Administration says, “…there is clearly a need to think beyond tomatoes.” Tomato growers have already suffered millions of dollars in losses from this outbreak, and are pressuring Congress to investigate how the CDC and FDA have handled the inquiry.
This instance of salmonella poisoning has already lasted much longer than these food-poisoning epidemics normally do.
