The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says it has found the root cause of a multistate Salmonella outbreak that has sickened 34 people across 13 states. And it all looks to be due to backyard poultry farms.
Here's everthing you need to know.
What exactly is going on?
According to the CDC, there is an ongoing Salmonella outbreak across the U.S., including cases in Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, New Hampshire, Ohio, Tennessee, Wisconsin, and West Virginia. Of those, 13 people had to be hospitalized. Thankfully, no deaths have been reported to date.
These illnesses, the CDC explained, are due to "backyard poultry, like chickens and ducks," which "can carry Salmonella germs even if they look healthy and clean. You can get sick from touching your backyard poultry or anything in their environment and then touching your mouth or food with unwashed hands and swallowing Salmonella germs."
The CDC added that the majority (80%) of those who fell ill came in contact with backyard poultry, while of those who owned the poultry, almost all (90%) had purchased or obtained the animals in only the last few months.
Here's what to do if you own poultry
Backyard flocks have experienced a bit of a boom in recent years, especially in the midst of an egg price hike. Even Costco got in on the game, offering a ready-to-ship coop. While having some chicks can be fun, the CDC would like to remind everyone of a few important safety protocols to follow. Namely, the following:
- Always wash your hands for 20 seconds after touching birds, their supplies, or collecting eggs.
- Use a pair of dedicated shoes or boots for your coop and don't wear them inside your house.
- Keep birds and supplies outside the house to prevent spreading germs into your house.
- Children younger than 5 years old shouldn't handle the birds (including chicks and ducklings) or anything in the area where the birds live and roam.
- Watch these videos to learn more about how to keep yourself, your family, and your backyard poultry safe and healthy.
Here's what businesses selling backyard poultry should do, too.
The CDC added that businesses that sell backyard poultry should ensure they source poultry from "hatcheries that take steps to reduce Salmonella contamination" and go through the same sanitization process as above, including sanitizing poultry display areas between shipments of new poultry.
"Provide handwashing stations or hand sanitizers next to poultry display areas and tell customers to wash their hands right after leaving these areas," the CDC added. "Display poultry out of reach of customers, especially children, so they cannot easily touch the poultry."
Why tracking Salmonella matters.
While the CDC noted that most people infected with Salmonella usually recover without treatment, in some people, "the illness may be so severe that the patient is hospitalized." It's especially hazardous to children younger than 5, adults 65 and older, and people with weakened immune systems. According to the CDC, it is responsible for 1.35 million infections, 26,500 hospitalizations, and 420 deaths in the United States every year. So yes, wash your hands and be careful, even if it's your own flock.
