Source: Dani Friedland, MEATINGPLACE, 1/6/12

Ground beef purchased at Hannaford Supermarkets is thought to be connected to an outbreak of Salmonella Typhimurium that has thus far sickened 19 people in 7 states, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday.

The stores recalled an undetermined amount of ground beef last month. (See “Grocery ground beef recalled, antibiotic-resistant illnesses involved, records sketchy” on Meatingplace, Dec. 16, 2011.)

Thus far, New Hampshire has the most identified illnesses, with six, followed by New York (five cases) and Maine (four cases). Hawaii, Kentucky, Massachusetts and Vermont each have one identified illness associated with the outbreak.

Of the ill persons for whom information is available, 78 percent said they ate ground beef in the week before becoming sick, while 86 percent reported buying ground beef from Hannaford between Oct. 12, 2011 and Dec. 10, 2011.

The strain of Salmonella Typhimurium isolated in the outbreak is resistant to several antibiotics, including amoxicillin/clavulanic acid, ampicillin, ceftriaxone, cefoxitin, kanamycin, streptomycin and sulfisoxazole.
 

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