Sixty-three additional cases of salmonella have been identified in an ongoing, multistate outbreak linked to raw beef products, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday.
This brings the total number of people who have fallen ill to 120 in 22 states since August.
Hawaii, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Washington are the latest states to report illnesses as part of this outbreak. They join Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, Ohio, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming, which all previously reported cases.
Those who are sick began experiencing symptoms between August 5 and September 28.
Symptoms of salmonella usually begin within 12 to 72 hours of consuming contaminated food. These can include diarrhea, abdominal cramps and fever that last between four and seven days. Most people recover on their own, but those who experience persistent diarrhea may need to be hospitalized.
Thirty-three of the sick individuals in this outbreak have been hospitalized, according to the CDC. No deaths have been reported.
Health officials previously linked the outbreak to raw ground beef products from JBS Tolleson Inc. On October 4, the Arizona-based meat producer recalled more than 6.5 million pounds of “various raw, non-intact beef products” because of potential salmonella contamination.
The recalled products were packaged between July 26 and September 7 and were sold nationwide under brand names Walmart, Cedar River Farms Natural Beef, Showcase, Showcase/Walmart and JBS Generic.
The USDA inspection mark on the packaging of the recalled products contains the establishment number “EST. 267.”
“FSIS is concerned that some product may be frozen and in consumers’ freezers. Consumers who have purchased these products are urged not to consume them. These products should be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase,” the agency said in announcing the recall.
The USDA also reminded consumers to cook all ground beef to an internal temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit. “The only way to confirm that ground beef or other cuts of beef are cooked to a temperature high enough to kill harmful bacteria is to use a food thermometer that measures internal temperature.”
