The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that 64 people in 22 states have been confirmed to have the Salmonella Telelkebir strain of the outbreak. Of the 44 people reported, 20 required hospitalization.
The true number of people sick in this outbreak is likely much higher than the reported number, and the outbreak may not be limited to states with known diseases. This is because many people recover without medical care or are not tested for salmonella. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that for every person confirmed as a patient in a salmonella outbreak, 29 people remain undetected.
State and local health officials survey patients to determine what they have in common. So far, 20 of the 27 people surveyed said they had eaten raw oysters before getting sick.
Public health investigators are also using the PulseNet system to identify diseases that may be part of this outbreak. CDC PulseNet manages a national database of DNA fingerprints of bacteria that cause foodborne illness. DNA fingerprinting is done on bacteria using a technique called whole genome sequencing (WGS).
WGS showed that bacteria from samples from sick people are closely related genetically. This suggests that people during this outbreak may have gotten sick from the same food.
At this time, the Food and Drug Administration has not narrowed its search to any one brand of oyster. Contamination of oysters by pathogens is not unusual. Therefore, health officials recommend not consuming them raw.
