Bad tomatoes sicken 2 people in Lake County
The Lake County Health Department has confirmed two cases of salmonella poisoning linked to a national outbreak caused by three types of raw tomatoes.
The victims, a 2-year-old from Waukegan and a 22-year-old from Ingleside, started showing symptoms of the illness in May. Neither was hospitalized and both are recovering, officials said.
The two cases confirmed Wednesday were genetically traced to the salmonella strain that so far has caused 167 cases of salmonella poisoning in 17 states. Twenty-seven of the cases are from Illinois, said Bill Mays, director of community health services for the Lake County Health Department.
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Health officials are working with the victims' families to prevent the spread of infection. Officials are also still investigating where the victims might have gotten the bad tomatoes.
"We have to make sure they are under medical care and they understand how salmonella is transmitted," Mays said. "We worry about the (victims), the youngest and the oldest, who are most vulnerable to dehydration. Those are the ones more likely to end up in the hospital. Unless they get dehydrated and take a severe turn, we assume that they'll recover just fine."
Salmonella is a bacteria that lives in the intestinal tracts of humans and other animals. The bacteria are usually transmitted to humans by eating foods contaminated with animal feces.
The FDA is still investigating the source of the outbreak but determined cherry tomatoes, grape tomatoes, tomatoes sold with the vine still attached and home-grown tomatoes as unlikely sources.
Red plum, red Roma or round red tomatoes were voluntarily pulled from many area supermarkets and restaurants, unless they were grown in certain states and countries.
Lake County Health Department employees sent an alert to all county food facilities informing them what particular tomatoes are involved in the outbreak.
The Illinois Department of Public Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend the following steps to prevent salmonella poisoning:
bull; Avoid buying bruised or damaged produce and discard any that appears spoiled.
bull; Thoroughly wash all produce.
bull; Refrigerate within two hours any cut, peeled or cooked produce.
bull; Keep produce separate from raw meats and seafood.
bull; Wash cutting boards, dishes, utensils and countertops with hot water and soap when switching among foods.
For more information on food handling safety and food borne illness, visit www.idph.state.il.us.