Raw oysters linked to ongoing Salmonella outbreak; almost half of U.S. states reporting cases

A CDC investigation notice regarding a multistate outbreak of Salmonella infections has been posted at https://www.cdc.gov/salmonella/outbreaks/oysters-12-25/index.html.

Key Points:

• Sixty-four people across 22 states have gotten sick with the same strain of Salmonella. Twenty people have been hospitalized, and no deaths have been reported.
• People in this outbreak are being hospitalized at a higher rate than expected when compared to other Salmonella outbreaks linked to oysters.
• State and local public health officials are interviewing people about the different foods they ate in the week before they got sick. Of the 27 people interviewed, 20 (74%) reported eating raw oysters.
• CDC and FDA are working to determine if a common source of oysters can be identified.
• No recall has been announced at this time.

What You Should Do:

• Raw oysters can be contaminated with germs at any time of year. Cook them before eating to reduce your risk of food poisoning.
• Hot sauce and lemon juice do not kill germs.
• You cannot tell if oysters have germs by looking at them.

About Salmonella:

• Most people infected with Salmonella develop diarrhea, fever, and stomach cramps 6 hours to 6 days after being exposed to the bacteria.
• The illness usually lasts 4 to 7 days, and most people recover without treatment.
• In some people, the illness may be so severe that the patient is hospitalized.
• Children younger than 5, adults 65 and older, and people with weakened immune systems are more likely to get severely sick.

If you have questions about cases in a particular state, please call that state's health department.

If you are a member of the media, please fill out this Request for Comment form to submit your media inquiry to CDC.

Thank you,

CDC Media Relations