CDC: 1 death, 76 illnesses linked to ground turkey

CASPER

THE FRIENDLY GHOST
Federal officials say one person has died from salmonella poisoning that appears to be linked to eating ground turkey, but the government is still investigating who produced the meat and has not initiated a recall.

Seventy-six people in 26 states have been made sick from the same strain of the disease. The CDC did not say where the person who died became sick and released no details about the death.

The illnesses date back to March, and the CDC said Monday that cultures of ground turkey from four retail locations between March 7 and June 27 showed salmonella contamination, though those are not specifically linked to the illnesses. The agency said preliminary information showed that three of those samples have been linked to the same production establishment but did not name the retailers or the manufacturers.

The Agriculture Department oversees meat safety and would be the agency to announce a recall. The department sent out an alert about the illnesses late last week telling consumers to properly cook their turkey, which can decrease the chances of salmonella poisoning. But the department has not given consumers any further warnings about the source of the tainted meat.

USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service "has not linked these illnesses to a particular brand, product, or establishment, and therefore has not issued a recall," spokesman Brian Mabry said Tuesday. "We are continuing to investigate this situation."

The CDC said it and USDA were "vigorously working to identify the specific contaminated product or products that are causing illnesses and will update the public on the progress of this investigation as information becomes available."

Food safety advocate Bill Marler, an attorney who has represented victims of the nation's biggest food-borne illness outbreaks, said he believes the three positive samples should prompt a recall.

"Consumers have no idea what to do except not eat ground turkey," he said.

The illnesses are spread all over the country. The states with the highest number sickened were Michigan and Ohio, 10 illnesses each, while nine illnesses were reported in Texas. Illinois had seven, California six and Pennsylvania five.

The remaining states have between one and three reported illnesses linked to the outbreak, according to the CDC: Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Iowa, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, Nebraska, Nevada, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Tennessee and Wisconsin.

A chart on the CDC's website shows cases have occurred every month since early March, with spikes in May and early June. The latest reported cases were in mid-July, although the CDC said some recent cases may not have been reported yet.

University of Pennsylvania bioethicist Art Caplan said the government's handling of the outbreak raises ethical questions about why the public wasn't warned sooner.
 
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