Outbreak of Salmonella Heidelberg infections linked to a single poultry producer -- 13 states, 2012-2013

Abstract

In June 2012, the Oregon Health Authority and the Washington State Department of Health noted an increase in the number of Salmonella enterica serotype Heidelberg clinical isolates sharing an identical pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) pattern. In 2004, this pattern had been linked to chicken from Foster Farms by the Washington State Department of Health; preliminary 2012 interviews with infected persons also indicated exposure to Foster Farms chicken. On August 2, 2012, CDC's PulseNet* detected a cluster of 19 Salmonella Heidelberg clinical isolates matching the outbreak pattern. This report summarizes the investigation by CDC, state and local health departments, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA-FSIS), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and reinforces the importance of safe food handling to prevent illness. A total of 134 cases from 13 states were identified, including 33 patients who were hospitalized. This multifaceted investigation used standard epidemiologic and laboratory data along with patient shopper card purchase information, and PFGE data from the retail meat component of the National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS)†, a relatively novel tool in outbreak investigation, to link the outbreak strain to chicken from Foster Farms.

FIGURE 1

Number of persons (N = 134) infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Heidelberg, by state — United States 2012–2013

FIGURE 2

Number of clinical isolates matching the Salmonella Heidelberg outbreak strain and 5-year baseline mean number of cases with the same strain, by week of uploads — PulseNet,^* United States, 2012–2013 ^* Additional information available at http://www.cdc.gov/pulsenet.

FIGURE 3

Comparison of the number of clinical isolates matching the Salmonella Heidelberg outbreak strain from Alaska, California, Oregon, and Washington with the number from all other states, by month of uploads — PulseNet,^* United States, 2001–2012 ^* Additional information available at http://www.cdc.gov/pulsenet.