A salmonella outbreak linked to Ohio sickened eight people in the state and has spread to 15 other states, including Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Virginia, health officials in Ohio told Reuters on Thursday.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) say 31 other people in the 15 aforementioned states have become ill with salmonella infection, according to Reuters.
According to the Ohio Department of Health and the Ohio Department of Agriculture, the outbreak appears to be linked to Mt. Healthy Hatchery, a business that supplies chicks and ducklings to an unnamed nationwide agricultural feedstore, Reuters reports.
Mt. Healthy Hatchery and the feedstore are working with state and federal investigators who are investigating the cause of the outbreak.
According to the CDC, salmonella infection is the most common foodborne illness in the US. An outbreak last year resulted in a recall of nearly half a billion eggs. In 2010, salmonella infection caused nearly 2,300 hospitalizations and 29 deaths.
