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WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal officials say one person has died from
salmonella poisoning that appears to be linked to eating ground
turkey, but the government so far has declined to say who produced
the meat or initiate a recall.
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Seventy-six people in 26 states have been made sick from the same
strain of the disease, which the federal Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention says is resistant to many commonly
prescribed antibiotics. The CDC did not say where the person who
died became sick and released no details about the
death.
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The illnesses date back to March, and the CDC said Monday that
cultures of ground turkey from four retail locations between March
7 and June 27 showed salmonella contamination. The agency said
preliminary information showed that three of the samples have been
linked to the same production establishment but did not name the
retailers or the manufacturers.
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The Agriculture Department oversees meat safety and would be the
agency to announce a recall. The department sent out an alert about
the illnesses late last week telling consumers to properly cook
their turkey, which can decrease the chances of salmonella
poisoning. But the department has not given consumers any further
warnings about the source of the tainted meat.
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The USDA has not responded to requests for comment on why there has
not been a recall. The CDC said it and the USDA were “vigorously
working to identify the specific contaminated product or products
that are causing illnesses and will update the public on the
progress of this investigation as information becomes
available.”
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Food safety advocate Bill Marler, an attorney who has represented
victims of the nation’s biggest food-borne illness outbreaks, said
he believes the three positive samples should prompt a
recall.
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“Consumers have no idea what to do except not eat ground turkey,”
he said.
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The illnesses are spread all over the country. The states with the
highest number sickened were Michigan and Ohio, 10 illnesses each,
while nine illnesses were reported in Texas. Illinois had seven,
California six and Pennsylvania five.
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The remaining states have between one and three reported illnesses
linked to the outbreak, according to the CDC: Alabama, Arizona,
Georgia, Iowa, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts,
Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, Nebraska, Nevada,
Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Tennessee and Wisconsin.
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The CDC said 26 states were affected but only listed 25 states in
which illnesses were reported in a news release issued Monday
evening.
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A chart on the CDC’s website shows cases have occurred every month
since early March, with spikes in May and early June. The latest
reported cases were in mid-July, although the CDC said some recent
cases may not have been reported yet.
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University of Pennsylvania bioethicist Art Caplan said the
government’s handling of the outbreak raises ethical questions
about why the public wasn’t warned sooner.
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“You’ve got to protect the public health. That’s their first and
primary value – not industry, not any other goal. They have to warn
as quickly as they think there’s reasonable evidence for concern,”
Caplan said.
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He said that uncertainty about the outbreak’s source might explain
the long silence, but added, “the moral duty is to really get the
word out as soon as you have evidence of a problem.”
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CDC spokeswoman Lola Russell said Tuesday it can take three to four
weeks to confirm one case. Identifying an outbreak can take
considerably longer than that when cases of foodborne illness occur
sporadically, in several states, as has happened in the current
outbreak, shel said.
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Russell said the CDC isn’t advising the public to avoid eating
ground turkey, but does urge people to cook it properly.
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Ground turkey is considered safe to eat when the internal
temperature reaches 165 degrees. For turkey patties or burgers,
internal temperatures on each side should be measured.
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Other government advice:
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-Refrigerate raw meat and poultry within two hours after purchase,
one hour if temperatures in the house exceed 90 F.
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-Refrigerate cooked meat and poultry within two hours after
cooking.
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-Wash hands with warm, soapy water for at least 20 seconds before
and after handling raw meat and poultry.
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The CDC estimates that 50 million Americans each year get sick from
food poisoning, including about 3,000 who die. Salmonella causes
most of these cases and federal health officials say they’ve made
virtually no progress against it.
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The most common symptoms of salmonella are diarrhea, abdominal
cramps and fever within eight hours to 72 hours of eating a
contaminated product. It can be life-threatening, especially to
those with weakened immune systems.
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One of the largest outbreaks last year involved salmonella-tainted
eggs that may have sickened as many as 56,000. About 2,000
illnesses were reported, but CDC estimates that only a fraction of
illnesses are reported in most outbreaks.
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—
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AP Medical Writer Lindsey Tanner contributed to this story from
Chicago.
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Online:
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CDC info on salmonella in ground turkey:“text-decoration: none; color: #000066;” href=
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target=”-blank”>http://www.cdc.gov/salmonella/heidelberg/080111/index.html
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