A Clark County woman is among those sickened in a national salmonella outbreak linked to raw tuna.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced on May 21 it was investigating a multistate salmonella outbreak. Public health officials in nine states have reported illness in 53 people. Testing revealed all of those sickened had the same strain of salmonella, a bacteria that causes illness with symptoms such as diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps 12 to 72 hours after exposure.
While the CDC has not conclusively identified the source of the outbreak, 97 percent of people interviewed during the investigation reported eating sushi in the week before becoming ill; 94 percent reported eating sushi made with raw tuna, according to the CDC.
That’s true for the local woman, as well, said Clark County Public Health epidemiologist Derel Glashower.
In late April, a local medical clinic reported a positive salmonella test to the health department. The woman’s test sample was sent to the state laboratory, where the strain of salmonella was identified and proved to be a match to other salmonella cases in the U.S., Glashower said.
Public health officials interviewed the woman and learned she had eaten sushi made with raw tuna at a Vancouver restaurant in the week before becoming ill, Glashower said. The woman recently traveled to Arizona and had eaten sushi made with raw tuna at a restaurant there, too, he said.
10 cases reported in Arizona
Arizona health officials have reported 10 cases of salmonella linked to the national outbreak, according to the CDC. Health officials there are following up with the restaurant where the Clark County woman ate sushi, Glashower said.
All of the information gathered during the interviews will be sent to the CDC, he said.
The CDC’s investigation has not identified a common brand or supplier of raw tuna linked to the illnesses. As such, no recalls have been requested or issued, Glashower said.
National outbreaks typically involve contaminated food products and are not the result of food-handling practices at individual restaurants, Glashower said. That’s why health officials are not publicly identifying or investigating the local restaurant, he said.
National outbreak
The majority of the outbreak cases have been reported in California, where 31 people have been sickened. Arizona has the second-highest case total, and New Mexico has reported six cases. Six other states, including Washington, have just one case.
Health officials first reported symptoms of illness in early March. Illnesses that occurred after April 21 might not yet be included in the outbreak total, due to the time lag between the onset of symptoms and the reporting of a positive test, according to the CDC.
Nationwide, 10 people have been hospitalized; no deaths have been reported, according to the CDC.
The Clark County woman did not need hospitalization. She has fully recovered from the illness, Glashower said.
