Although the CDC is reporting only 27 illnesses in a Salmonella Telelkebir outbreak linked to oysters, the Virginia Department of Health has documented 55 patients across 19 states.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report on Oct. 19 counted patients in 12 states. The Food and Drug Administration reported the same number in a recall notice for oysters harvested by the Little Wicomico Oyster Company from the Little Wicomico River.
The Virginia health department reports that the illnesses began in late May and run through Oct. 6. The CDC reports that five patients have required hospitalization. Georgia’s Department of Agriculture says Publix sold the recalled oysters as “James River Oysters” through Oct. 14, five days after the recall.
For the 27 patients reported by the CDC, 10 reported eating raw oysters. Tag and traceback records exist for seven. Two of the seven ate oysters from a single Virginia source and five from several, and the company’s Little Wicomico River oysters were the only oysters in common to the seven ill people included in traceback.
The recall covers oysters harvested Sept. 18 through Oct. 8 and the Virginia health department reports that the last illness onset is Oct. 6. All of the 27 patients counted by the CDC so far ate oysters harvested before the recall window.
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There are likely many more sick people than either the CDC or Virginia counts reflect. This is because some people do not seek medical treatment and others are not tested for Salmonella infection. The CDC estimates that for every confirmed patient in a Salmonella outbreak there are 29 who are not detected. Also, the CDC says it takes three to four weeks for a stool culture to become a sequenced isolate that is matched to the outbreak and counted.
Other outbreak news
The FDA has updated information on three other outbreaks.
For an outbreak of Listeria monocytogenes infections from an unnamed source, the agency has initiated an onsite inspection and sample testing. However the FDA is not reporting what location is being inspected or what is being tested. The outbreak has sickened 46 people, but the FDA is not reporting the patients’ ages or where they live. The outbreak was first posted Sept. 23.
For an outbreak of Salmonella Newport infections from an unnamed source, the FDA reports that the outbreak has ended. A total of 119 patients were confirmed, but the FDA did not report the patients’ ages or where they lived. The agency conducted traceback and sample testing, but did not report what food was traced or tested. The outbreak was first posted on August. 26.
For an outbreak of Listeria monocytogenes infections from an unnamed source, the FDA reports that the outbreak has ended. Eleven people were confirmed as patients, but the FDA did not report their ages or where they lived. The agency conducted traceback, onsite inspections and sample testing but did not report what food was traced or tested. The agency also did not report what location was inspected. The outbreak was first posted on July 22.
Dining and Cooking