2018 Salmonella Infections Linked to Hy-Vee Spring Pasta Salad – Final Update
Posted September 5, 2018 at 4:45 PM ET
CDC, public health and regulatory officials in several states, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration investigated a multistate outbreak of Salmonella infections linked to Spring Pasta Salad purchased at Hy-Vee grocery stores. This outbreak appears to be over.
- Reported Cases: 101
- States: 10
- Hospitalizations: 25
- Deaths: 0
- Recall: Yes
- On July 17, 2018, Hy-Vee, Inc. recalled its Spring Pasta Salad because it might have been contaminated with Salmonella. Any recalled Spring Pasta Salad would now be expired.
- Contact a healthcare provider if you think you got sick from eating recalled pasta salad.
- Most people infected with Salmonella develop the following signs and symptoms 12-72 hours after being exposed to the bacteria:
- Diarrhea
- Fever
- Abdominal cramps
- Most people infected with Salmonella develop the following signs and symptoms 12-72 hours after being exposed to the bacteria:
- This outbreak appears to be over.
- 101 people infected with the outbreak strains of Salmonella Sandiego and Salmonella enterica subspecies IIIb were reported from 10 states.
- Illnesses started on dates ranging from June 21, 2018 to August 7, 2018.
- Twenty-five people were hospitalized. No deaths were reported.
- Epidemiologic evidence indicated that Spring Pasta Salad purchased at Hy-Vee grocery stores was a likely source of the outbreak.
- On July 17, 2018, Hy-Vee, Inc. recalled its Spring Pasta Salad because it might have been contaminated with Salmonella. Any recalled Spring Pasta Salad would now be expired.
- Most people infected with Salmonella develop diarrhea, fever, and stomach cramps 12 to 72 hours after being exposed to the bacteria.
- The illness usually lasts 4 to 7 days, and most people recover without treatment.
- In some people, the diarrhea may be so severe that the patient needs to be hospitalized. Salmonella infection may spread from the intestines to the bloodstream and then to other places in the body.
- Children younger than 5 years, adults older than 65 years, and people with weakened immune systems are more likely to have a severe illness.
September 5, 2018
CDC, public health and regulatory officials in several states, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration investigated a multistate outbreak of Salmonella infections.
Public health investigators used the PulseNet system to identify illnesses that were 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 bacteria from ill people in this outbreak showed that they were closely related genetically. This means they were more likely to share a common source of infection.
As of September 5, 2018, 101 people infected with the outbreak strains of Salmonella Sandiego (92 people), Salmonella enterica subspecies IIIb (7 people), or both (2 people) were reported from 10 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 ranging from June 21, 2018, to August 7, 2018. Ill people ranged in age from 1 year to 89, with a median age of 50. Sixty-one percent were female. Of 95 people with information available, 25 (26%) were hospitalized. No deaths were reported.
WGS analysis did not identify antibiotic resistance in bacteria isolated from 46 ill people. Testing of clinical isolates using standard antibiotic susceptibility testing methods by CDC’s National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS) laboratory is underway.
Investigation of the Outbreak
Epidemiologic evidence indicated that Spring Pasta Salad purchased at Hy-Vee grocery stores was a likely source of this outbreak.
In interviews, ill people answered questions about the foods they ate and other exposures in the week before they became ill. Sixty (76%) of 79 people interviewed reported eating Spring Pasta Salad from Hy-Vee grocery stores in Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, and South Dakota. The ill people in North Dakota, Oregon, and Tennessee traveled to states where Hy-Vee grocery stores are located.
On July 16, 2018, Hy-Vee, Inc. of West Des Moines, Iowa removed Spring Pasta Salad products from all of its stores. Hy-Vee stores are located in Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wisconsin. On July 17, 2018, Hy-Vee, Inc. recalled its Spring Pasta Salad because it might have been contaminated with Salmonella.
This outbreak appears to be over.
