Headline News

Reuters

“The number of deaths related to the U.S. outbreak of salmonella has risen to seven with the death of a Minnesota woman in her 80s.

“The woman had been living in a long-term care facility, a spokesman for the Minnesota Department of Health said on Saturday.

“Her name and date of death were not released. It was the third death tied to salmonella in Minnesota.

“The spokesman said he did not know if the woman had eaten peanut butter. Several products containing peanut butter have been recalled as the U.S. government investigates the outbreak of salmonella food poisoning.”

CDC

(Ed Note: It is important to know how to check original sources when public health problems surface. Below is the link to the CDC information about this outbreak and a map showing which states have had reported cases and how many.)

“The weekly update and map for the tracking of the salmonella update comes from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Since the report is updated weekly, there often are updates. Unless that update includes a confirmation from the CDC, it may not be accurate.

This one is for January 22 and the next update will be January 29, 2009.

If you look at the map, you will see a curious pattern for a product which has been sold to many companies with national distribution. California, for instance, has no reported cases. Neither does Louisiana. Yet Virginia and Minnesota are among the states with the most cases.

This outbreak has been attributed to one plant, according to the CDC. It makes products for institutional uses and manufacturers. The product itself is not sold directly to consumers but the product may be used by companies who sell their brands in groceries.

Source: Reuters, January 24, 2009

Source: CDC, January 22, 2009