Salmonella Affects Over 650 Individuals, CDC Urges Consumers to Test Their Onions

Following a salmonella epidemic that affected over 650 individuals throughout the US, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is urging consumers to test their onions. The CDC has issued an alert for fresh, entirely red, white, as well as yellow onions shipped from Chihuahua, Mexico. ProSource Inc. supplied them to supermarkets and restaurants across the United States. According to the CDC, the implicated onions were last imported by the firm on August 27, however, they would last for up to 3 months in warehousing and may still be in businesses and homes. As per the CDC, illnesses linked to tainted onions began to surface on September 1.

As of Wednesday, the epidemic has been linked to 652 recorded cases in 37 states. The states with the most recorded cases were Texas, Virginia, and Illinois. Oregon, Dakota, Colorado, Nebraska, Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa, Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia, North and South Carolina, Kentucky, Michigan, West Virginia, New Jersey, Massachusetts, New York, Oklahoma, Maryland, California, Utah, New Mexico, Kansas, Minnesota Wisconsin, Mississippi, Tennessee, Florida, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, as well as Connecticut, were among the other states reporting cases.

Although no one has died as a direct result of this outbreak, 129 individuals have been hospitalized. According to the CDC, officials are investigating to determine whether additional onions and vendors are related to the epidemic. The CDC also urged companies to inspect their storage refrigerators for contaminated onions. “If you can’t identify where they came from, toss them,” the CDC advised. “Wash and disinfect all surfaces which have come in contact with these onions.” Almost all salmonella infections cause symptoms such as diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps within 6 hours to 6 days of being subjected to the bacteria. The sickness usually lasts 4 to 7 days, and the majority of patients recover without any therapy. Children under the age of five, individuals over the age of 65, and persons with weaker immune systems are more prone to experience severe responses.