CDC Reports Salmonella Outbreak Linked to Ground Beef Affects 16 Individuals in 4 States

Sixteen people have gotten sick with salmonella after eating ground beef, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) alert.

Most of those who got sick reported eating 80% lean ground beef sold at ShopRite locations in the Northeast.

So far, there are nine reported cases in New Jersey, five in New York, one in Connecticut, and one in Massachusetts. Six people have been hospitalized with a salmonella infection, but no deaths have been reported.

According to the CDC, it’s likely that there are more than 16 illnesses associated with this outbreak.

Many people recover from salmonellosis—the illness caused by salmonella—without medical care and are never tested for it, so there may have been additional cases that weren't added to the outbreak total.

It can also take a few weeks for cases to be counted as part of an outbreak, the CDC said, so there could be recent illnesses that haven’t yet been documented.

The first reported illness was on April 27; the other 15 cases were documented between May 21 and June 16.

Investigators are still working to find the source of the contaminated ground beef—no recall has been announced.

Ground beef can be a source of salmonella, but the bacteria are killed when the beef is cooked to an internal temperature of 160°F. Undercooking ground beef can put people at risk of ingesting salmonella.

Salmonella may be more commonly associated with eggs or raw chicken, but ground beef can be an issue as well. Between 2012 and 2019, there were 27 salmonella outbreaks linked to beef.

In general, salmonella is a huge issue in the U.S.—the CDC estimates that the bacteria causes 1.35 million infections, 26,500 hospitalizations, and 420 deaths each year.

As is the case with most instances of food poisoning, salmonella bacteria primarily causes acute gastroenteritis, or general diarrheal sickness.

Symptoms can appear between 6 hours and 6 days after someone ingests the bacteria, and the illness typically lasts between 4 and 7 days before clearing up on its own.

Most people will experience fever, abdominal cramps, diarrhea, and possibly nausea or vomiting if they get sick from salmonella.

But sometimes salmonella infections can be more serious—diarrhea can cause severe dehydration, especially in infants and older people. And if the salmonella bacteria make their way into other parts of the body, they can cause severe issues such as meningitis, or blood or bone infections.

Antibiotics are typically only used in these more severe cases, or for people with salmonella who may be at an increased risk of serious illness, such as those with older patients with underlying conditions or immunocompromised people.

Because outbreaks are very common and symptoms can be severe, it’s important that people are aware of what they can do to prevent salmonellosis.