bdmetronews Desk ॥ An outbreak of drug-resistant Salmonella that’s being called “alarming” has infected 255 people in 32 different states, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The infection, which led to 60 people being hospitalized and two deaths between June 2018 and March 2019, is linked to eating beef from the U.S. and soft cheese made with raw, unpasteurized milk from Mexico, per the August 23rd report.
Food poisoning from Salmonella isn’t that usual. About 1 in 6 Americans get sick from the bacteria every year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Salmonella is very common,” Yvonne Maldonado, MD, medical director of infection control and chief of pediatric infectious disease at Stanford Children’s Health, tells Yahoo Lifestyle. “It’s everywhere. It’s one of the most common causes of diarrheal disease in the world.”
For most people, the infection passes on its own, marked by diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps 12 to 72 hours after infection and lasting for four to seven days. But in severe cases, it can require antibiotics. “Most healthy people don’t get treated for Salmonella — most patients get over it themselves,” Brian Ahmer, PhD, a professor of microbial infection and immunity at The Ohio State College of Medicine, tells Yahoo Lifestyle. However, “for children, the elderly, and the immunocompromised, it can be very bad.”
Which is why it’s worrisome that the CDC has issued a report warning of Salmonella that’s resistant to the standard course of antibiotics.
