Salmonella Outbreak Linked to Cantaloupes Declared Over

By Gretchen Goetz | October 5, 2012 The multistate outbreak of Salmonella Typhimurium and Salmonella Newport infections linked to Indiana-grown cantaloupes is over, announced the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Friday. Cantaloupes from Chamberlain Farms in Owensville, IN ultimately sickened 261 people in 24 states and led to 3 deaths in Kentucky, according to CDC's final outbreak report. The first victim fell ill on July 6 , 2012 and the last reported illness began September 16. No illnesses have been reported since that time, leading CDC to conclude that the outbreak is now finished. Cases were concentrated in the Midwest, South and along the Eastern Seaboard, but one  case was also reported in Montana. The total case count by state is as follows: Alabama (25), Arkansas (6), Florida (1), Georgia (13), Illinois (36), Indiana (30), Iowa (9), Kentucky (66), Maryland (1), Michigan (8), Minnesota (2), Mississippi (7), Missouri (17), Montana (1), New Jersey (2), North Carolina (5), Ohio (5), Oklahoma (1), Pennsylvania (2), South Carolina (4), Tennessee (8), Texas (2), Virginia (1), and Wisconsin (9). These include both the 228 Salmonella Typhimurium infections and the 33 Salmonella Newport infections linked to Chamberlain Farms' cantaloupes. Those sickened spanned a range of 100 years in age. The youngest reported victim was less than 1 year old, while the oldest was 100; the median age was 47. Of the patients for whom information was available, 51 percent were hospitalized. This hospitalization rate is unusually high for Salmonella infections. The CDC estimates that of the more than 1 million people who contract Salmonella infections in the U.S. each year, approximately 1.9 percent are hospitalized. The final case count of 261 records 9 less victims than the 270 reported in CDC's last update. According to the agency, " The number of ill persons reported declined in certain states from previous reports since MLVA is now being used to define the outbreak strain of Salmonella Typhimurium." MLVA, or Multiple-Locus Variable-number tandem repeat Analysis, is a different type of analysis than the kind usually used to identify bacteria during outbreaks. CDC spokesperson Lola Russell explained that a drop in case count is not unusual over the course of an epidemiological investigation and can happen for multiple reasons. "That happens in outbreak investigations," said Russell in an emailed statement to Food Safety News. "Some cases initially reported by the states fall off during the course of the investigation. Some illnesses, once lab samples, dates and interview data is compiled, do not meet the definition of an actual case." © Food Safety News More Headlines from Foodborne Illness Investigations » Tags: cantaloupe, CDC, Chamberlain Farms, Salmonella Newport, Salmonella Typhimurium, salmonellosis