A Clark County resident is among nearly 400 people sickened in a multistate salmonella outbreak linked to chicks and ducklings.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released an outbreak advisory Friday, reporting 372 cases of salmonella in 47 states. In Washington, 16 people have been diagnosed with salmonella after coming into contact with backyard flocks.
A Clark County boy older than 5 has been diagnosed with the bacterial infection; his age was not released. The boy was briefly hospitalized but has since recovered, according to Clark County Public Health.
Elsewhere in Washington, cases have been reported in Chelan, Cowlitz, Grays Harbor, King (two cases), Kitsap, Kittitas, Lewis, Mason, Pierce (two cases), Snohomish, Yakima (two cases) and Whatcom counties. Seven of the 16 infected people are children younger than 5 years old. Five people have been hospitalized, but no deaths have been reported, according to the state Department of Health.
Among the 372 people infected in the multistate outbreak, 36 percent are children younger than 5, according the CDC. The CDC reports 71 hospitalizations and no deaths linked to the multistate outbreak.
Salmonella is a bacterial infection spread by fecal-oral transmission. Chicks and ducklings can pick up the bacteria from other birds and carry the bacteria in their intestines. Not all birds carry the bacteria, but many do, according to health officials.
When people touch the birds or their habitats, they can get the salmonella bacteria on their hands. Without a thorough hand-washing with soap and water, that bacteria can be transferred to food, other surfaces or anything the person touches, including their own mouths, according to health officials.
Symptoms of salmonella infection usually begin one to three days after exposure and include diarrhea, fever and stomach pain. Most people will recover without medical treatment within four to seven days.
Children younger than 5, adults older than 65 and people with weakened immune systems, however, are most likely to experience severe illness from salmonella, according to health officials.
