2018 Salmonella Infections Linked to Raw Turkey Products – Outbreak Investigation Updates by Date

February 15, 2019

Since the last update on December 21, 63 ill people from 24 states and the District of Columbia have been added to this investigation.

As of February 13, 2019, 279 people infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Reading have been reported from 41 states and the District of Columbia. A list of the states and the number of cases in each can be found on the Map of Reported Cases page.

Illnesses started on dates from November 20, 2017, to January 29, 2019. Ill people range in age from less than 1 year to 101, with a median age of 43. Fifty-three percent of ill people are female. Of 222 people with information available, 107 (48%) have been hospitalized. One death has been reported from California.

Whole genome sequencing (WGS) analysis did not identify predicted antibiotic resistance in 157 isolates from 79 ill people and 78 food, animal, environmental samples. However, 107 isolates from ill people and 115 isolates from food, animal, and environmental samples contained genes for resistance or decreased susceptibility to all or some of the following antibiotics: ampicillin, streptomycin, sulfamethoxazole, tetracycline, kanamycin, gentamicin, nalidixic acid, ciprofloxacin, and fosfomycin. Testing of 8 outbreak isolates using standard antibiotic susceptibility testing by CDC’s National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS) laboratory confirmed these results (fosfomycin and kanamycin were not tested by this method). Most of the infections in this outbreak are susceptible to the antibiotics that are commonly used for treatment, so this resistance likely will not affect the choice of antibiotic used to treat most people.

Investigation of the Outbreak

State and local health departments continue to interview ill people about the foods they ate and other exposures in the week before they became ill. Seventy-eight (55%) of the 141 ill people interviewed reported preparing or eating turkey products that were purchased raw, including ground turkey, turkey pieces, and whole turkey. Ill people reported buying many different brands of raw turkey products from multiple stores. Also, 4 of the 141 ill people interviewed became sick after pets in their home ate raw ground turkey pet food. Five of the 141 ill people interviewed worked in a facility that raises or processes turkeys, or lived with someone who did.

Public health and regulatory officials in Minnesota identified the outbreak strain of Salmonella Reading in samples of raw turkey pet food from Woody’s Pet Food Deli. One ill person from Minnesota lived in a household where a pet regularly ate raw turkey pet food from Woody’s Pet Food Deli. On January 28, 2019, Woody’s Pet Food Deli in Minnesota recalled raw turkey pet food.

Ill people in this outbreak report buying many different brands of raw turkey products from multiple stores. Available data indicate that this strain of Salmonella Reading may be present in live turkeys and in raw turkey products. A single, common supplier of raw turkey products, or of live turkeys, has not been identified that could account for the whole outbreak.

December 21, 2018

Since the last update on November 8, 2018, 52 ill people from 26 states and the District of Columbia have been added to this investigation.
As of December 18, 2018, 216 people infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Reading have been reported from 38 states and the District of Columbia. A list of the states and the number of cases in each can be found on the Map of Reported Cases page.

Illnesses started on dates from November 20, 2017, to December 6, 2018. Ill people range in age from less than 1 year to 99, with a median age of 40. Fifty-five percent of ill people are female. Of 175 people with information available, 84 (48%) have been hospitalized. One death has been reported from California.

Whole genome sequencing analysis (WGS) did not identify predicted antibiotic resistance in 132 isolates from 61 ill people and 71 food and animal samples. However, 80 isolates from ill people and 97 isolates from food, animal, and environmental samples contained genes for resistance or decreased susceptibility to all or some of the following antibiotics: ampicillin, streptomycin, sulfamethoxazole, tetracycline, kanamycin, gentamicin, nalidixic acid, ciprofloxacin, and fosfomycin. Testing of six outbreak isolates using standard antibiotic susceptibility testing by CDC’s National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS) laboratory confirmed these results. Most of the infections in this outbreak are susceptible to the antibiotics that are commonly used for treatment, so this resistance likely will not affect the choice of antibiotic used to treat most people.

Investigation of the Outbreak

State and local health departments continue to interview ill people about the foods they ate and other exposures in the week before they became ill. Fifty-eight (54%) of the 108 ill people interviewed reported preparing or eating turkey products that were purchased raw, including ground turkey, turkey pieces, and whole turkey. Ill people reported buying many different brands of raw turkey products from multiple stores. Also, 3 of the 108 ill people interviewed became sick after pets in their home ate raw ground turkey pet food. Four of the 108 ill people interviewed worked in a facility that raises or processes turkeys, or lived with someone who did.

Public health officials in Arizona and Michigan collected unopened Jennie-O brand ground turkey from the homes of two ill people. WGS showed that Salmonella bacteria isolated from the ill persons and from the ground turkey were closely related genetically. This result provides more evidence that people in this outbreak got sick from eating turkey.

On November 15, 2018, Jennie-O Turkey Store Sales, LLC, in Barron, Wisconsin recalled approximately 91,388 pounds of raw ground turkey products. On December 21, 2018, Jennie-O Turkey Store Sales, LLC, in Faribault, Minnesota recalled approximately 164,210 pounds of raw ground turkey products.

Ill people in this outbreak report buying many different brands of raw turkey products from multiple stores. Available data indicate that this strain of Salmonella Reading may be present in live turkeys and in raw turkey products. A single, common supplier of raw turkey products or of live turkeys has not been identified that could account for the whole outbreak.

November 16, 2018

Public health officials in Arizona collected unopened Jennie-O brand ground turkey from an ill person’s home. The outbreak strain of Salmonella Reading was identified in the ground turkey.

On November 15, 2018, Jennie-O Turkey Store Sales, LLC, in Barron, Wisconsin recalled approximately 91,388 pounds of raw ground turkey products. The recalled ground turkey products were sold in one-pound packages and have use by dates of October 1, 2018 and October 2, 2018.

Ill people in this outbreak report buying many different brands of raw turkey products from multiple stores. Available data indicate that this strain of Salmonella Reading may be present in live turkeys and in raw turkey products. A single, common supplier of raw turkey products or of live turkeys has not been identified that could account for the whole outbreak.

November 8, 2018

Since the last update on July 19, 2018, 74 ill people from 26 states have been added to this investigation.

As of November 5, 2018, 164 people infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Reading have been reported from 35 states. A list of the states and the number of cases in each can be found on the Map of Reported Cases page.

Illnesses started on dates from November 20, 2017, to October 20, 2018. Ill people range in age from less than one year to 91, with a median age of 45. Fifty-six percent of ill people are female. Of 135 people with information available, 63 (47%) have been hospitalized. One death has been reported from California.

Investigation of the Outbreak

State and local health departments continue to interview ill people about the foods they ate and other exposures in the week before they became ill. Of 85 people interviewed, 44 (52%) people interviewed reported preparing or eating turkey products that were purchased raw, including ground turkey, turkey pieces, and whole turkey. Ill people reported buying many different brands of raw turkey products from multiple stores. Also, 3 of the 85 ill people interviewed became sick after pets in their home ate raw ground turkey pet food. Three of the 85 ill people interviewed worked in a facility that raises or processes turkeys, or lived with someone who did.

The outbreak strain of Salmonella Reading has been identified in samples from raw turkey pet food in Minnesota, from live turkeys from several states, and from raw turkey products collected from ill people’s homes. The raw turkey samples collected from ill people’s homes are still being investigated to determine the source of the turkey.

The outbreak strain was also identified in samples from raw turkey products from 22 slaughter and 7 processing establishments. The samples collected by FSIS at these slaughter and processing establishments were part of FSIS’s routine testing under the Salmonella performance standards. Furthermore, whole genome sequencing (WGS) showed that the Salmonella strain isolated from these samples is closely related genetically to the Salmonella strain from ill people. This result provides more evidence that people in this outbreak got sick from preparing raw turkey products.

WGS analysis did not identify predicted antibiotic resistance in 116 isolates from 53 ill people and 63 food and animal samples. However, 68 isolates from ill people and 84 isolates from food, animal, and environmental samples contained genes for resistance to all or some of the following antibiotics: ampicillin, streptomycin, sulfamethoxazole, tetracycline, kanamycin, gentamicin, nalidixic acid, ciprofloxacin, ceftriaxone, and fosfomycin. Testing of five outbreak isolates using standard antibiotic susceptibility testing by CDC’s National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS) laboratory confirmed these results. Most of the infections in this outbreak are susceptible to the antibiotics that are commonly used for treatment, so this resistance likely will not affect the choice of antibiotic used to treat most people.

Available data indicate that this strain of Salmonella Reading may be present in live turkeys and in raw turkey products. A single, common supplier of raw turkey products or of live turkeys has not been identified.

July 19, 2018

CDC and public health and regulatory officials in several states are investigating a multistate outbreak of Salmonella Reading infections linked to raw turkey products. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety Inspection Service (USDA-FSIS) is monitoring the outbreak.

Public health investigators are using the PulseNet system to identify illnesses that may be part of this outbreak. PulseNet is the national subtyping network of public health and food regulatory agency laboratories coordinated by CDC. DNA fingerprinting is performed on Salmonella bacteria isolated from ill people by using techniques called pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and whole genome sequencing (WGS). CDC PulseNet manages a national database of these DNA fingerprints to identify possible outbreaks. WGS gives a more detailed DNA fingerprint than PFGE. WGS performed on Salmonella from ill people in this outbreak showed that they are closely related genetically. This means that the ill people are more likely to share a common source of infection.

As of July 11, 2018, 90 people infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Reading have been reported from 26 states. A list of the states and the number of cases in each can be found on the Map of Reported Cases page.

Illnesses started on dates from November 20, 2017, to June 29, 2018. Ill people range in age from less than 1 year to 91, with a median age of 41. Sixty-one percent are female. Of 78 people with information available, 40 (51%) have been hospitalized. No deaths have been reported.

Investigation of the Outbreak

In interviews, ill people answered questions about the foods they ate and other exposures in the week before they became ill. Of 61 people interviewed, 37 (61%) people interviewed reported preparing or eating turkey products that were purchased raw, including ground turkey, turkey pieces, and whole turkey. Ill people reported buying many different brands of raw turkey products from multiple stores. Also, two of the 61 ill people interviewed became sick after pets in their home ate raw ground turkey pet food. Three of the 61 ill people interviewed worked in a facility that raises or processes turkeys, or lived with someone who did.

The outbreak strain of Salmonella Reading has been identified in samples from raw turkey pet food in Minnesota, from raw turkey products from 19 slaughter and 6 processing establishments, and from live turkeys from several states.  The samples collected by FSIS at these slaughter and processing establishments were part of FSIS’ routine testing under the Salmonella performance standards. Furthermore, WGS showed that the Salmonella strain from these samples is closely related genetically to the Salmonella strain from ill people.  This result provides more evidence that people in this outbreak got sick from preparing raw turkey products.

WGS analysis did not identify predicted antibiotic resistance in 68 isolates from 28 ill people and 40 food and animal samples. However, 33 isolates from ill people and 49 isolates from food and animal samples contained genes for resistance to all or some of the following antibiotics: ampicillin, streptomycin, sulfamethoxazole, tetracycline, gentamicin, and kanamycin. Testing of four outbreak isolates using standard antibiotic susceptibility testing by CDC’s National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS) laboratory confirmed these results. This resistance likely will not affect the choice of antibiotic used to treat most people since these antibiotics are not normally used to treat Salmonella infections.

Available data indicate that this strain of Salmonella Reading may be present in live turkeys and in raw turkey products. A single, common supplier of raw turkey products or of live turkeys has not been identified.

CDC and USDA-FSIS shared the results of the investigation with representatives from the turkey industry to make them aware of the outbreak and resulting illnesses, and to ask them about steps they may be taking to reduce Salmonella contamination. Because investigation results suggest this strain of Salmonella Reading is present in both live turkeys and in raw turkey products, further investigation and interventions to reduce the prevalence of this strain should target both the live turkey industry and turkey processing facilities. Consumers should be aware that raw turkey may be contaminated with germs and consumers should always follow steps to prevent Salmonella infection from these products.