Salmonella Outbreak Sickens 172 in 18 States

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http://health.msn.com/dietfitness/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100147769

U.S. health officials investigating latest bacterial infection, possibly linked to tomatoes.
-- HealthDay staff

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TUESDAY, Oct. 31 (HealthDay News) -- U.S. health officials are investigating a nationwide outbreak of salmonella, possibly linked to produce, that has sickened at least 172 people in 18 states and left 11 people hospitalized.

The bacteria may have spread through some form of produce, possibly tomatoes, the officials said. But the outbreak has yet to be linked to any specific food product, food-distribution chain, restaurants or supermarkets, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"We're very early in the investigation," Dave Daigle, a CDC spokesman, told the Associated Press.

There are no reported fatalities in the outbreak, officials said.

Last month, an outbreak of E. coli contamination in fresh, packaged spinach killed three people and sickened more than 200 people in 26 states and one Canadian province.

Health officials have traced the spinach outbreak to a ranch in California's Salinas Valley, where it is believed that wild boar may have carried the bacteria from cattle feces to nearby spinach fields.

In the new outbreak, announced Monday night, CDC officials said they first noticed a problem two weeks ago through a national computer lab system that looks for patterns and matches in reports of food-borne illness. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has joined the investigation and will try to help trace the outbreak to its origin, the AP reported.