Worst Salmonella Infections in US- Blame It on Jalapeno Peppers

The ongoing multi-state outbreak of human Salmonella serotype Saintpaul infections has now sickened more than 1,000 people nationwide. The three-month-old outbreak that at first was only blamed on tomatoes is now linked to the jalapeno and serrano peppers by the federal health officials.

As of Wednesday, at least 1,017 people have become ill from Salmonella poisoning in 41 states, with 203 hospitalizations, making this the worst outbreak carried by food in at least a decade.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention now says jalapeño peppers caused some illnesses, and warned certain people to avoid types of hot peppers. The federal agency advised the elderly, infants and people with weak immune systems to avoid raw jalapeno peppers and raw serrano peppers in order to remain unaffected by the infection.

"Other persons who want to reduce their risk of salmonella infection can take similar precautions," Robert Tauxe, MD, MPH, deputy director of the FDA's Division of Foodborne, Bacterial, and Mycotic Diseases, said Wednesday in a statement.

According to CDC, the outbreak also caused the death of a Texas man in his 80s, and it may have infected another Texas man, in his 60s, who died of cancer.

Health officials, late last month, had started examining whether something other than tomatoes may be the source of a salmonella outbreak, and, last week, they focused their probe on peppers for Salmonella outbreak, considering this Salsa ingredient as a leading suspect for spreading the saintpaul illness, an uncommon type of Salmonella bacteria. However, they did not issue a warning until Wednesday.

Besides the jalapeno peppers, the new warning also applies to raw serrano peppers, which are often confused with jalapeños. However, the US health watchdog hasn't asked restaurants or grocery stores to pull jalapeno or serrano peppers. No pepper recall is issued, so far.

Health officials stated that tomatoes cannot be ruled out as the cause of the widespread infection, considering the possibility that the same rare strain of salmonella has contaminated both tomatoes and peppers.

Salmonella is a kind of rod-shaped Gram-negative enterobacteria that causes typhoid fever, paratyphoid fever and food-borne illnesses like bloody diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. It can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, weak or aged people, and others with deteriorated immune systems.

The bacteria can enter the human system through contaminated water or food such as meat or poultry, and eggs with cracked shells.

The illness lasts four to seven days, while the acute illness lasts for 1 to 2 weeks. Most people recover without treatment.

There are nearly 2,500 kinds of salmonella. The type in the ongoing outbreak is salmonella SaintPaul, which is an uncommon bacterium. Salmonella outbreaks take place in tomatoes periodically. A 2004 outbreak that sickened more than 400 people was linked to tomatoes sold in Sheetz convenience stores.