Personal Injury Law

Subway Salmonella Outbreak Linked to Fresh Produce and Illnesses hit 71

By Bill Marler

That would mean actual illnesses are now 2741 (as I was told this morning that "the right number is 38.6 cases of Salmonella infection for each culture-confirmed case, and not 38.5, see, http://www.cdc.gov/enterics/publications/374-voetscha1.pdf").  According to Andy Nelson of The Packer:

The number of cases of salmonella in Illinois with a possible link to the Subway sandwich chain has risen to 71, seven of the people stricken are still in the hospital and a state official said fresh produce was probably the culprit.

After illnesses began being reported, Subway replaced supplies of four fresh vegetables from its restaurants in the state.

Twenty-six people have been hospitalized, and seven were still in the hospital as of June 10, said Melaney Arnold, communications manager for the Illinois Department of Public Health.

As of June 10, the latest date reported for hospitalization was May 30, Arnold said. The ages of those hospitalized ranged from 2 to 88.

While originally it was not known what caused the outbreak, on June 10 Arnold said the department believed it was a fresh produce item.

The department, which is working with the Food and Drug Administration, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Subway and local health departments, was investigating possible distributors of the produce but had not reached any conclusions, Arnold said.

Subway restaurants in 22 Illinois counties removed lettuce, green peppers, red onions and tomatoes from restaurants during the period in which people who got sick reported eating at a Subway — May 11 to May 25, according to the department — and replaced them with new product, according to a Subway news release.

Full post as published by Marler Blog on June 10, 2010 (boomark / email).