NEWS

Multistate salmonella outbreak linked to cucumbers sickens 66 in Arizona

Courtney Mally
The Republic | azcentral.com
Health

A multistate salmonella outbreak linked to cucumbers grown outside of the U.S. has sickened 66 people in Arizona, according to health officials.

Seventy-five percent of cases involve children ages 17 and younger, the Arizona Department of Health Services said Friday. Most reported eating garden-variety cucumbers from restaurants or grocery stores and became sick on or after July 13.

Garden-variety cucumbers are thick-skinned and are sold unwrapped in grocery stores. State health officials say no Arizona cucumber producers have been linked to the outbreak.

“State and local health departments have been working around the clock with federal partners to rapidly identify the source of this outbreak so we can inform the public,” said Dr. Cara Christ, director of the Health Services Department. “Today, the state lab made a preliminary identification of the source and it is urgent to get the message out to prevent any more exposure to children and adults.”

State health officials believe the tainted cucumbers originated from a farm in Mexico.

Nationwide, 285 cases have been identified in 27 states, according to state health officials. The median age is 15 and about 32 percent have been hospitalized, with one death reported outside of Arizona. The national investigation has also pointed to garden-variety cucumbers as the source of this outbreak.

To prevent illness, state health officials recommend thorough hand washing with soap and water prior to food preparation or consumption and after using the toilet. Fruits and vegetables should also be washed before eating or cutting them up.

In addition, state health officials suggest anyone who has purchased cucumbers to ask the retailer where the cucumbers were grown. If they were grown in Arizona or in the United States, they are safe to eat; If not, it's best to throw them out, officials said.

“When we talk about produce being contaminated, the bacteria lives on the outside of the product where it comes in contact with soil and not usually on the inside,” said David Ludwig, manager for Pima County Health Department’s Consumer Health and Food Safety Program. “When we cook food products, cooking to the temperature of 165 degrees kills salmonella, but with produce we don’t cook, like cucumbers, we need to thoroughly scrub the outside to remove any soil contamination.”

Every year, salmonella causes one million illnesses in the U.S., with 19,000 hospitalizations and 380 deaths, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Most people infected with salmonella develop diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps 12 to 72 hours after infection. The illness typically lasts four to seven days, and most people recover without treatment.