WEDNESDAY, Aug. 24 (HealthDay News) -- Chicks and ducklings from
a mail-order hatchery in Ohio are linked to two salmonella
outbreaks in the United States, the U.S. Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention said Wednesday.
Salmonella Altona has sickened 65 people in 20 states and
Salmonella Johannesburg has sickened 27 people in 15
states.
Interviews with 54 of the people infected with the Altona strain
found that 41 (76 percent) had contact with live poultry (chicks,
chickens, ducklings, ducks, geese and turkeys) before they became
ill, the CDC said.
Interviews with 24 of the people infected with the Johannesburg
variant revealed that 17 (71 percent) of them had contact with live
poultry before they got sick.
Federal, state and local public health and agriculture officials
investigating the outbreaks traced both back to chicks and
ducklings from a single mail-order hatchery in Ohio.
People who touch live poultry or anything in the area where live
poultry live and roam should immediately wash their hands
thoroughly with soap and water, and adults should supervise young
children's handwashing, the CDC advised.
The agency also said that mail-order hatcheries, agricultural
feed stores and others who sell or display chicks, ducklings and
other live poultry should provide consumers with health-related
facts, including information about the risk of salmonella
infection.
More information
The CDC has more about the risk of salmonella infection from
live baby poultry.