Salmonella Virus Continues
Mike Smith
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Tomatoes, chili peppers, & fresh cilantro. What do these things have in common? If your mind went immediately to salsa you would be wrong. And, according to the government, in grave danger.
Each of them is a potential cause of the largest reported salmonella outbreak in the United States in over 20 years. Forty-two states have been hit, and the number of people who have fallen ill has risen to 1148. New Mexico is one of the top states affected with over a hundred people sick.
Salmonella, despite all of the hype, is not the most dangerous virus. So far only 220 of the infected people have had to be hospitalized and there has been one confirmed death due to the virus. Most people recover without treatment. Infants, elderly people, and those with weak immune systems are most likely to develop serious illness. In extreme situations salmonella may spread from the intestines to the bloodstream and to other parts of the body, possibly causing death.
However, nobody's calling the symptoms pleasant. In most people salmonella causes diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps 12-72 hours after infection. The illness usually lasts 4-7 days.
The interesting part of this is what a hard time the government is having in pinning down the culprit. Originally tomatoes were the main suspect but the FDA and CDC has since widened the search to include cilantro and chili peppers. The problem, they say, is that people rarely remember what exactly they've eaten.
So far all tested samples have proven completely absent of salmonella which is causing some to doubt that fresh produce is the cause at all. Currently the FDA does not consider canned food to be a serious risk, despite canned peanut butter carrying salmonella in 2007.
Until the real cause is found the CDC recommends that you refrigerate your vegetables when not in use, wash them, and, when possible, cook them.
Duh.
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