Salmonellainfections.
The cases involve outbreak strains ofSalmonellaInfantis,SalmonellaNewport orSalmonellaHadar, according to CDC. An investigation by public health officials linked the outbreak to contact with chicks, ducklings and other live poultry sourced from Mt. Healthy Hatcheries in Ohio. CDC first reported the illnesses in May when at least 60 individuals were infected with outbreak strains ofSalmonellaInfantis orSalmonellaNewport. Mt. Healthy Hatcheries has been associated withSalmonellainfections linked to live poultry in 2012 and 2013, CDC noted.
Illnesses have been reported from 42 states and Puerto Rico. The illnesses began between Feb. 3 and July 10. No deaths have been reported, but 64 individuals have been hospitalized, CDC said.
In its most recent update on the outbreak, CDC said samples from live poultry and their surroundings where they live and roam were collected from infected individuals' homes in Vermont and Virginia. Tests of the samples yielded two of the outbreak strains ofSalmonellaInfantis.
In a public health alert released in May, CDC said Mt. Healthy Hatcheries used multiple source flocks to obtain eggs and chicks making it unclear where the contamination originated.
"This hatchery is a member of the USDA National Poultry Improvement Plan, a program that is intended to eliminate certain strains ofSalmonellathat cause illness in poultry breeding flocks and hatcheries, but does not certify that these live poultry are free from other strains ofSalmonellathat may cause human illness," CDC stated in the alert.
