Six new cases of salmonella caused by tainted tomatoes have been confirmed in New York. This brings the national tally up to 383. Furthermore, this outbreak is far from over according to Dr. Robert Tauxe of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
The six new cases are somewhat misleading because most of the individuals who were sickened became ill weeks ago, but were just counted. Giving some indication of how bad this salmonella outbreak is, is that test results in many states have backlogs in laboratories. Some states are doing better than others in monitoring how many people are getting sick, though.
The outbreak has spread to 30 states and the District of Columbia, and began on or around April 10th. The latest illness occurred June 5th. However, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania, who just reported their first cases, believe some of the infected may have become ill while traveling elsewhere. At least 48 people have been hospitalized.
Difficult to Track
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been helping in trying to track the farm or farms that may be the source of salmonella. However, they believe it may be impossible to trace this to its source. The reason is that when people get sick from eating tomatoes, there are rarely any tomatoes present when the person first gets sick, and tomatoes are sold without supplier tags.
The FDA believes areas of Mexico or Florida are the most likely areas of contamination because they were supplying most of the nation’s tomatoes when the outbreak began in April. However, the longer the search goes, the less likely one true source will be found.
The FDA continues to ask consumers to avoid purchasing and eating raw red plum, red Roma, or red round tomatoes unless grown in states or countries that have already been cleared. Safe tomatoes include grape and cherry tomatoes, and those with the vine still attached.
Salmonella causes cramping, diarrhea, and vomiting. Most people are able to recover within a week.
If you or a loved one has become sickened by eating tainted tomatoes, please contact an experienced injury lawyer to see if you have a claim.
