Salmonella Spice Outbreak Expands

Houston, TXOn May 30th, health officials confirmed that the recent West Coast foodborne illness outbreak of rare Salmonella Rissen has expanded to 5 states. The current illness count has risen to 79, and is distributed as follows: California (63), Nevada (10), Oregon (4), Washington (1), and Idaho (1). Illness onsets range from December 9, 2008 to April 29, 2009.

DNA testing has confirmed that these illnesses were caused by the consumption of Uncle Chen's and Lian How spices manufactured by Union International Food Company of Union City, California. The company has recalled the contaminated spices and ceased production and distribution of the spices while the FDA and California Department of Public Health continue to investigate the outbreak.

A lawsuit was first filed on May 5th relating to this outbreak. The suit was filed in Los Angeles County, California on behalf of David Navarrette, a San Pedro resident who consumed food containing the contaminated spices at a buffet at Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, Nevada and thereafter became violently ill. DNA testing has since confirmed that he contracted the exact strain of Salmonella Rissen isolated from Lian How white pepper collected from the restaurant. Five other consumers who ate at the restaurant over a three month period also contracted this strain of salmonella.

"We are going to determine how these spices became contaminated to make sure it does not happen again" said attorney Ron Simon, Simon & Luke, who filed the lawsuit and represents other victims of the outbreak.

According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), on average only 7 Salmonella Rissen cases are reported in the United States every year, making Salmonella Rissen extremely rare. However, the CDC also says that most foodborne illnesses go unreported; many victims often mistake food poisoning for "stomach flu". ) and food poisoning causes about 76 million illnesses, 325,000 hospitalizations, and up to 5,000 deaths each year. Salmonella, one of the most common forms of food poisoning, accounts for one billion dollars in medical costs and lost work time.

How an Outbreak is Investigated

An investigation begins once an outbreak is suspected; people with symptoms are interviewed in an attempt to identify the source of the outbreak (in this case, Uncle Chen's and Lian How white pepper) and a "case definition" is developed that describes these cases. The investigative team describes time, place and person and draws a graph that shows the number of people who fell ill, when and where. If the cause of the outbreak is unknown, samples of stool and/or blood are collected from the victims and sent to the public health laboratory for diagnosis.

Salmonella Symptoms

Bacteria are one of the most common causes of food borne illnesses and symptoms are generally nausea, vomiting, crampy diarrhea, and headache. Symptoms may also show up a few weeks later as arthritis (joint pains). In people with impaired immune systems (such as people with kidney disease or HIV/AIDS or those on chemotherapy for cancer), foodborne illnesses such as Salmonella can be life–threatening. Some victims will develop a disease called Reiter's Syndrome, a difficult- to- treat form of reactive arthritis that causes severe joint pain, irritation of the eyes, and painful urination. Reiter's Syndrome can cause anguish for months and even years for some victims, and can lead to chronic arthritis.

If you think you have food poisoning, it is important that you get medical help, obtain a stool sample and avoid over-the-counter medications. And you may want to seek legal advice.