CDC Issues Update on Ground Turkey Recall

In its continuing investigation of the multistate Salmonella Heidelberg outbreak likely linked to eating of ground turkey, CDC issued an update on its findings. These include:

• A total of 107 persons infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Heidelberg have been reported from 31 states.
• 23 of these ill persons have been identified with Salmonella Heidelberg with a closely related PFGE pattern to that of the other 84 ill persons. The 23 ill persons with this closely related PFGE pattern of Salmonella Heidelberg have been included in the total count of outbreak cases.
  • These two closely related PFGE patterns of Salmonella Heidelberg were isolated from a ground turkey sample taken from an Ohio patient’s home and retail samples of ground turkey collected as part of routine surveillance through the National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS).
• Collaborative investigative efforts of state, local, and federal public health and regulatory agencies indicate that eating ground turkey is the likely source of this outbreak.
• On August 3, 2011, an Arkansas firm recalled ground turkey products due to possible Salmonella contamination.
• Contaminated ground turkey is being recalled from grocery stores but may still be in consumers' homes.
• Consumers should check their homes for recalled ground turkey products and not eat them; restaurant and food service operators should not serve them.
• The outbreak strain of Salmonella Heidelberg is resistant to several commonly prescribed antibiotics; this antibiotic resistance may be associated with an increased risk of hospitalization or possible treatment failure in infected individuals.