Salmonella outbreak with unknown cause in Cayuga, other NY counties - The Citizen
Some Cayuga County residents were affected by a salmonella outbreak in central and western New York that was investigated by the state Department of Health.
Nancy Purdy, director of community health services for the Cayuga County Health Department, told the Cayuga County Board of Health on Tuesday that the peak of the outbreak was in September. As of two weeks ago, there were 265 cases tied to the outbreak. The health department confirmed to The Citizen that a majority of those cases were in central and western New York, including 20 in Cayuga County since August.
The source of the outbreak is unknown. Purdy said the state Department of Health investigated most of the salmonella cases but could not find a cause.
A state Department of Health spokesperson told The Citizen on Friday that there was an outbreak in September and early October "in a few counties in central New York." There was communication with local health departments, the spokesperson said, but they did not provide any more information about the outbreak.
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Deanna Ryan, supervising public health administrator and public information officer for the Cayuga County Health Department, wrote in an email to The Citizen that an unknown number of salmonella cases required hospitalization, but because the state Department of Health conducted the investigations there was no data available on if any Cayuga County residents were hospitalized.
"It is believed the outbreak is over, but (the state Department of Health) was not able to identify the source of the outbreak," Ryan wrote. "There were commonalities between cases, but no direct link to one particular source (food item, food production facility, restaurant or store)."
She added that the state is working with the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to investigate the outbreak.
The outbreak caused a noticeable uptick in salmonella cases in Cayuga County. According to Ryan, the county has 29 confirmed cases this year, up from 12 last year and six in 2020.
Salmonella can spread through contaminated foods, such as chicken, eggs, fruits and vegetables, or by touching animals infected with the bacteria.
According to the CDC's estimates, salmonella causes 1.35 million infections annually. Symptoms begin six hours to six days after infection. Common symptoms include diarrhea, fever and stomach cramps and usually last four to seven days.
Most people will recover without treatment, but some could experience severe illness. The CDC reports 26,500 hospitalizations and 420 deaths every year due to salmonella.
Politics reporter Robert Harding can be reached at (315) 664-4631 or robert.harding@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter @robertharding.
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