Health news, tips and features: Healia Health Blog

June 19th, 2008

Number of People Infected with Salmonella Saintpaul Rises to 383

Health News posted 4 years ago by The Healia Team

More than 350 people have now fallen ill in a Salmonella outbreak linked to certain types of tomatoes. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 383 people in 30 states have been infected with Salmonella Saintpaul, a rare strain of the bacteria.

Food safety experts have linked the outbreak to tainted raw round, plum, and Roma tomatoes and have not yet identified the source of contamination. The Chicago Department of Public Health told the Chicago Tribune on Wednesday that it reported a cluster of nine Salmonella cases at Adobo Grill restaurants in two parts of the city. Investigators are focusing on Mexico and central and southern Florida, which were the two largest suppliers of tomatoes at the time of the Salmonella outbreak.

An outbreak update and description of tainted tomatoes and areas are posted on the FDA's Web site. For more information about Salmonella, see Healia’s previous blog on the topic, Nine States Affected by Salmonella Food Poisoning, or ask a Healia Health Expert a question about Salmonella.