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Mail-order poultry spread salmonella

A team of researchers for the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) says mail-order poultry was responsible for 316 cases of human salmonella contamination in 43 states over an eight-year period. The study found half of the cases were in children 5 years of age or younger and 81 percent of the infections were linked to one hatchery.

In an article published in the New England Journal of Medicine, Dr. Nicholas Gaffga and his colleagues identify the hatchery only as “Hatchery C in the western United States.” They add that because only a portion of the salmonella infections were confirmed by a laboratory, it is likely there were thousands of additional unconfirmed infections. The facility produces four million birds a year shipping up to 25,000 a week to all 50 states. The researchers say “interventions performed at the hatchery reduced but did not eliminate associated human infections.” WebMD cites previous CDC reports indicating “it’s a large hatchery in New Mexico.