2nd Florida farm named by FDA in cucumber salmonella outbreak. What we know

Another Florida farm has been identified as a likely source for a salmonella outbreak that has stricken nearly 450 people in 31 states and the District of Columbia , according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Several points of service where ill people reported eating cucumbers led the multistate investigation by the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to Thomas Produce Company of Boca Raton, the FDA said Tuesday , where Salmonella Braenderup matching the outbreak was detected in samples of canal water during an onsite inspection.

Previously , samples of both soil and water tested at Bedner Growers, Inc. , of Boynton Beach, Florida, were found to have multiple strains of salmonella, the FDA said. The cucumbers were distributed through Fresh Start Produce Sales Inc., which issued a voluntary recall in May. The two Florida farms do not account for all the cases, the agency said, and there is little chance for continued exposure.

"Bedner Growers, Inc.’s and Thomas Produce Company’s cucumber growing and harvesting season is over," the FDA said. "There is no product from these farms on the market and likely no ongoing risk to the public."

There have been no deaths reported, the CDC said, but 125 people have been hospitalized. As of Aug. 14, 52 people in Florida have reported salmonella infections connected to the outbreak.

Initially, the agencies and local partners were treating the outbreak as two separate outbreaks of Salmonella Africana and Salmonella Braenderup, but the CDC and FDA combined them into one due to similarities in demographics and the foods ill people said they ate before they became sick.

Boynton Beach farm may have contributed to previous outbreaks

Bedner's also may have been a source for other outbreaks, the FDA said.

"Multiple other strains of Salmonella, unrelated to this outbreak investigation, found at Bedner Growers, Inc. matched clinical isolates from illnesses in the National Center for Biotechnology Information’s (NCBI) database that occurred in previous years," the FDA said.

The FDA and CDC are investigating samples from the farm to see if they match previous outbreaks.

Other salmonella outbreaks

The FDA is investigating an outbreak of Salmonella Typhimurium illnesses with 88 cases, linked to a "not yet identified product."

The CDC is also investigating a salmonella outbreak linked to backyard poultry , which has sickened 195 people in 38 states, including 50 who were hospitalized, and another linked to pet bearded dragons which has infected 15 people.

A previous salmonella outbreak this year linked to organic basil sold at Trader Joe's affected 12 people in seven states, including Florida, leaving one person hospitalized.

Where were people infected with salmonella?

According to the CDC, the people infected in the salmonella outbreak are in:

• Alabama: 4
• Arkansas: 1
• Connecticut: 7
• Delaware: 2
• District of Columbia: 1
• Florida: 52
• Georgia: 33
• Illinois: 4
• Indiana: 2
• Iowa: 4
• Kentucky: 17
• Maine: 3
• Maryland: 13
• Massachusetts: 11
• Michigan: 9
• Minnesota: 9
• Missouri: 3
• New Jersey: 19
• Nevada: 1
• New York: 57
• North Carolina: 22
• Ohio: 18
• Oklahoma: 1
• Pennsylvania: 60
• Rhode Island: 7
• South Carolina: 20
• Tennessee: 20
• Texas: 2
• Vermont: 1
• Virginia: 43
• Washington: 1
• Wisconsin: 2

"This outbreak may not be limited to the states with known illnesses, and the true number of sick people is likely much higher than the number reported," the CDC said. "This is because many people recover without medical care and are not tested for salmonella."

What is salmonella?

"Salmonella are bacteria that make people sick," the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says on its fact page.

Salmonella can make people ill with diarrhea, fever, and stomach cramps which can last from four days up to a week. Symptoms usually begin six hours to six days after infection, the CDC said. Most cases of Salmonella infections pass, but some people may need to be hospitalized.

Salmonella bacteria cause "about 1.35 million infections, 26,500 hospitalizations, and 420 deaths in the United States every year," the CDC said. "Food is the source for most of these illnesses."

What you should do

It is unlikely any remaining cucumbers from the farm are still available. If you're not sure, don't eat them. The CDC recommends you wash any surfaces they may have touched with hot soapy water or a dishwasher.

Call a doctor if you have any of these severe symptoms :

• Diarrhea and a fever higher than 102°F
• Diarrhea for more than 3 days that is not improving
• Bloody diarrhea
• So much vomiting that you cannot keep liquids down
• Signs of dehydration, such as:
  • Not peeing much
  • Dry mouth and throat
  • Feeling dizzy when standing up

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: 2nd Florida farm named by FDA in cucumber salmonella outbreak. What we know