Outbreak linked to Triple T Specialty Meats chicken salad grows

A Salmonella outbreak linked to chicken salad produced by Triple T Specialty Meats has grown to 170 victims. No deaths have been reported, but 62 people have been hospitalized.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported in its latest update that the multi-state outbreak added 105 illnesses from six states. The most recent victims likely purchased the implicated chicken salad before it was recalled.

The states reporting illnesses are Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Texas. Not surprisingly, Iowa – the home state of Triple T Specialty Meats (Ackley, IA) – has experienced the majority of the cases (149).

A Salmonella outbreak linked to chicken salad produced by Triple T Specialty Meats of Iowa has grown to 170 victims. Sixty-two people have been hospitalized.

Triple T Specialty Meats
initiated its recall Feb. 21

The outbreak first made headlines in February when it was learned that illnesses started on dates ranging from Jan. 8 to Feb. 18. The implicated chicken salad had been sold in the delis of Fareway grocery stores in Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, and South Dakota from Jan. 4 to Feb. 9.

After learning of the outbreak from the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals (DIA) on Feb. 9, Fareway pulled the chicken salad from its delis and issued a voluntarily recall.

Fareway officials revealed at that time that the chicken salad had been supplied by Triple T Specialty Meats. However, Triple T Specialty Meats did not issue a recall of the chicken salad until Feb. 21. On that date, the company also pulled 20,600 pounds of chicken salad made between Jan. 2 and Feb. 7 and packaged for Fareway.

The CDC recommends that anyone who purchased chicken salad before Feb. 21 remove it from the freezer and throw it away or return it to the place of purchase.

Two lawsuits already filed
in Salmonella outbreak

In addition to the increasing case count, two civil lawsuits already have been filed against Fairway. The lawsuits were filed on Feb. 20 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa.

The lawsuits were filed on behalf of three people: Illinois resident Jeff Anderson, and Derek and Sarah Porter, a married couple from South Dakota.

The lawsuits seek unspecified damages and jury trials. The complaints contend that Fareway Stores Inc. had a responsibility to not sell contaminated food.

Triple T Specialty Meats:
Salmonella facts and figures

Foodborne illnesses caused by Salmonella bacteria are quite common in the United States, according to statistics compiled by the CDC. Salmonella annually sickens about 1 million U.S. citizens, with 19,000 of those victims requiring hospitalization and 380 of them dying.

Salmonella bacteria produce an illness called salmonellosis, symptoms for which generally present within 12 to 36 hours after eating food contaminated with the Salmonella bacteria. Symptoms, however, can present as early as six hours, or as late as three days after ingestion.

Symptoms generally last four to seven days; most people recover without treatment. Those symptoms are many and can include:

• diarrhea, which can often become bloody
• nausea
• abdominal pain
• fever
• headache
• vomiting
• dehydration
• muscle pains.

Complications of Salmonella
A Salmonella infection can turn dangerous when diarrhea becomes so severe that it causes dehydration. That can result in the need for hospitalization.

When dehydration occurs in certain people — especially children, the elderly, women who are pregnant, transplant recipients, and people with compromised immune systems — the development of complications can become dangerous.

Those complications can include:

Dehydration: If not enough water is consumed to replace fluid lost from diarrhea, dehydration can occur. Warning signs include:

• decreased output of urine
• mouth that becomes dry
• sunken eyes
• a decreased production of tears.

Bacteremia: If the Salmonella bacteria enter the bloodstream, bacteremia occurs. It can infect tissues throughout the body, including:

• the tissues surrounding the brain and spinal cord (meningitis)
• the lining of the heart and/or valves (endocarditis)
• the bones, or bone marrow (osteomyelitis)
• the lining of blood vessels, especially if there is a vascular graft.

Reactive arthritis: Anyone who has a Salmonella infection is at a higher risk of developing reactive arthritis (also known as Reiter’s syndrome). Reactive arthritis typically causes the following symptoms:

• eye irritation
• painful urination
• painful joints.