More than 150 Americans have fallen ill and 54 have been hospitalized after eating cucumbers contaminated with salmonella, a report shows.
The CDC revealed the cucumber link in an update today, saying some of the food eaten by patients had tested positive for the bacteria.
Many had also reported eating cucumbers before becoming ill, researchers said, with symptoms including diarrhea, bloody stools and vomiting.
No deaths have been recorded, but officials warn that young children, the elderly and people with compromised immune systems are at greater risk from the disease.
Cucumbers contaminated with salmonella are believed to have sickened and hospitalized dozens of people in at least 25 states
The cucumbers were sold in bulk by Florida-based Fresh Start Produce Sales, which many believed had already been repackaged for the stores
Researchers linked the wave of illnesses to cucumbers after interviewing patients about their diet in the days and weeks before they became unwell.
A recall of cucumbers from 14 states has already been issued and the affected foods were distributed on May 24.
They were sold in bulk by Florida-based Fresh Start Produce Sales, and many thought they had already been repackaged for the stores.
It was not clear how salmonella – normally found in the intestines of cows and chickens – had contaminated the cucumbers.
But experts warned that cucumber plants could pick up the bacteria if they were irrigated with water contaminated with animal feces – with salmonella able to attach to the outside of cucumbers and leaves.
Salmonella can also contaminate a production facility if it lands on machinery, which then spreads the bacteria to other cucumbers.
Patients came from 25 states and reported becoming ill between March 11 and May 16 of this year, although more recent cases may have yet to be reported.
Patients reported becoming ill between March 11 and May 16 this year, although more recent cases may have yet to be reported
The majority of patients are female, from a white ethnic background and have an average age of around 40 years old – although the patients also included a one-year-old child.
The states reporting sick patients were: Pennsylvania, New York, Florida, Virginia, Ohio, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, North Carolina, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Kentucky, Michigan, Rhode Island, Iowa, New Jersey, Connecticut, Maryland, Texas , Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Indiana, Maine and Missouri.
Healthy people infected with salmonella may experience fever, diarrhea, vomiting and abdominal pain that lasts for several days.
In many cases this can be treated with bed rest and painkillers.
But in more severe cases, the bacteria can enter the body’s bloodstream, where they can cause life-threatening complications such as sepsis.
The disease is most commonly transmitted through eating raw or undercooked meat, unpasteurized milk, or unwashed fruits and vegetables.
About 1.35 million salmonella infections are reported in the U.S. each year, while 26,500 people are hospitalized and 420 people die from the disease.