Salmonella Saintpaul Lawsuit Filed Against Wal-Mart
The first lawsuit stemming from the Salmonella outbreak that has sickened 1319 people, hospitalized 255 and caused the death of 2 in 43 states, the District of Columbia and Canada was filed today in the District Court of Montezuma County, Colorado.
The complaint was filed on behalf of Delores, Colorado resident Brian Grubbs against Wal-Mart and an unknown supplier, referred to as “John Doe”.
The lawsuit states that the Grubbs family purchased raw jalapeno peppers from the Wal-Mart Supercenter in Cortez, Colorado in late June, and that Mr. Grubbs ate them over the next week. He fell ill on July 3, experiencing nausea, vomiting, fever, chills, and diarrhea. Over the next several days, Mr. Grubbs’ condition continued to worsen; he lost a great deal of weight, was severely dehydrated, and could not walk without assistance. His wife drove him to the Northern Navajo Medical Center in Shiprock, New Mexico, where he was treated for dehydration and decreased kidney and liver functions. Samples taken at the time later revealed that he was positive for salmonella Saintpaul.
“Consumers believe that retailers like Wal-Mart know the quality and safety of products they sell,” said William Marler, the Grubbs’ attorney. “Retailers benefit from that trust, and must be held accountable for the products they sell.”
The Grubbs family still possessed some of the peppers that Mr. Grubbs had consumed, and provided them to authorities. Tests revealed that the peppers were tainted with salmonella Saintpaul, and provided one of the first reported physical links in the three-month-long search for the source of the outbreak.
Salmonellosis illnesses from the Saintpaul strain began showing up in Texas and New Mexico in late April, and in early June the CDC linked those illnesses to raw tomatoes and issued consumer warnings. Advisories were widened to include foods commonly consumed with tomatoes, such as peppers, cilantro, and onions, then narrowed to raw jalapeno and serrano peppers. On July 30, the FDA confirmed the presence of salmonella Saintpaul at a farm in Mexico, both in irrigation water and on produce. The investigation is continuing. (A full timeline of the outbreak can be found here.)
Salmonella is a bacterium that causes one of the most common intestinal illnesses in the US: salmonellosis infection. It can be present in uncooked or undercooked meat, poultry, eggs, or unpasturized dairy products, as well as other foods contaminated during harvest, production, or packaging. Symptoms can begin 6 to 72 hours from consumption, and include diarrhea, abdominal cramps, fever, nausea, and/or vomiting. In most victims, symptoms will lessen over a period of 10 days to 2 weeks, although it may take months for body functions to return to normal. In others, the infection can lead to more severe illnesses such as typhoid fever and bacteremia. There are many strains of the bacterium; salmonella Saintpaul is a fairly common serotype, but the specific subtype, or fingerprint, associated with this outbreak is very rare.
Did one state with its act together on food poisoning cases crack the Salmonella Saintpaul outbreak when all the expertise of the federal government ended up looking like the keystone cops? The Minneapolis Star-Tribune in a story published on its website tonight, says the answer to that question would be: "Yah, sure! You betcha!"
The Salmonella Saintpaul outbreak has contributed to two deaths and sickened over 1,200 people in 43 states and the District of Columbia.
fresh jalapenos.
The State of North Carolina has forced the recall of Mexican-grown HASS avocados and jalapenos of unknown origin after they tested positive for Salmonella.
The U.S. government has declared it's OK to eat tomatoes again, lifting its salmonella warning amid signs that the outbreak -- while not over -- may finally be slowing. 
Today's update from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) added 19 confirmed cases to the Salmonella Saintpaul outbreak, bringing the total up to 1,167. The latest onset date (last time someone got sick) remains July 4th. If you need to know more than we reported yesterday, you can always check with CDC .jpg)
mirror and ten days back see the last onset of the Salmonella Saintpaul illness. The CDC today reported latest date for when Salmonella Saintpaul made was July 4th.
How about a break? How about Thai Basil, grown in Mexico and imported by Lucky Green Trading, Inc. based in Garden Grove, CA? 
eaten by persons who were ill in May to foods eaten by well persons identified consumption of raw tomatoes as strongly linked to illness.
A similar but much larger, nationwide study comparing persons who were ill in June to well persons found that ill persons were more likely to have recently consumed raw tomatoes, fresh jalapeno peppers, and fresh cilantro. These items were commonly, though not always, consumed together, so that study could not determine which item(s) caused the illnesses. 
Recently, many clusters of illnesses have been identified in several states among persons who ate at restaurants. Most clusters involve fewer than 5 ill persons. Three larger clusters have been intensively investigated. In one, illnesses were linked to consumption of an item containing fresh tomatoes and fresh jalapeno peppers. In the other two, illnesses were linked to an item containing fresh jalapeno peppers and no other of the suspect items. The accumulated data from all investigations indicate that jalapeno peppers caused some illnesses but that they do not explain all illnesses. Raw tomatoes, fresh serrano peppers, and fresh cilantro also remain under investigation. Investigators from many agencies are collaborating to track the source of the implicated peppers and other produce items. 
As for illnesses, 
The CDC says now that we have 887 people infected with Salmonella Saintpaul with the same genetic fingerprint have been identified in 38 states and the District of Columbia. Two new states, Alabama and South Carolina, report ill persons. 
