The deadly Salmonella outbreak linked to contaminated cantaloupe is tied to a rare strain, Salmonella Sundsvall. The 32-state outbreak has caused 99 illnesses, 45 hospitalizations, and two deaths.
In Minnesota, where the most illnesses and the only fatalities have been reported, Carlota Medus, an epidemiologist with the Minnesota Department of Health’s foodborne diseases unit, told the StarTribune she has only seen the strain once before in her 25 years at the department.
Do You Need a Salmonella Lawyer?
Between 2004 and 2014, the number of infections reported nationwide from Salmonella Sundsvall were measured in single digits, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). A total of just 42 cases were reported during those 11 years. Compare that with 67,829 infections tied to Salmonella Typhimurium, a more common strain.
In 2015 and 2016, 10 and eight cases of Salmonella Sundsvall were reported respectively. After that, the CDC stopped publishing its National Enteric Disease Surveillance Salmonella Annual Report, so that is the most current data on total annual infections by serotype.
Outbreaks Linked to Salmonella Sundsvall
The CDC announced the current outbreak on November 17. Within a week the number of illnesses doubled and hospitalizations soared, an indication of the virulence of this rare strain. “This outbreak has an unusually high hospitalization rate,” said noted Food Safety Attorney, Eric Hageman.
Hageman and Salmonella Attorney David Coyle were part of the Pritzker Hageman trial team that won a $6.5 million verdict in a landmark Salmonella lawsuit against a chicken processing company on behalf of a toddler who suffered brain damage from a Salmonella infection he contacted.
Recalls for whole and cut melon sold at Walmart, Kwik Trip, ALDI, and other stores have been issued.
Prior to the ongoing cantaloupe outbreak, the CDC tracked two other Salmonella Sundsvall outbreaks but never announced them to the public. One of them, caused by an unknown source, sickened two people in Arizona in 2014. The other, in 2016, was a multistate outbreak linked to fast food that sickened six people hospitalizing one of them.
Symptoms of Salmonella Infection
Symptoms of a Salmonella infection usually develop within six to 72 hours of exposure. They include nausea, fever, abdominal cramps, and diarrhea that can be bloody.
Experienced Salmonella Lawyers
If you developed a Salmonella infection after eating recalled cantaloupe and would like a free consultation with an experienced Salmonella lawyer, please contact us. The Pritzker Hageman Salmonella Legal Team has represented clients in every major Salmonella outbreak in the U.S. You can reach us by calling 1-888-377-8900, sending a text to 612-261-0856, or by completing the form below. There is no obligation and we don’t get paid unless we win.