This cannot be good.
Through Sunday, the number of confirmed cases of Salmonella Typhimurium had reached the biblically scary figure of 666. Plus the number of states with confirmed cases increased by one to reach 45 with the addition of Montana. The number of dead remains at nine.
The outbreak, blamed on the now bankrupt Peanut Corporation of America processing facilities in Georgia and Texas, continues, according to the Centers For Disease Control & Prevention (CDC). It has slowed since December, but the most recent onset of the disease is Feb. 3rd.
Federal officials are concerned that illness will continue to occur if people eat recalled peanut-containing products that are still on their shelves at home.
Consumers may use FDA’s online database* to see if foods are on the recall list. Those without Internet access may call 1-800-CDC-INFO (available 24 hours a day, seven days a week) for product recall information. Consumers should also check at home for recalled peanut butter containing products and discard them or return them to retailers for credit.
Here’s the latest map of the outbreak:
Cases Infected with the Outbreak Strain of Salmonella Typhimurium, United States, by State, as of February 22, 2009 at 9pm ET (n=666)
As of 9PM EDT, Sunday, February 22, 2009, 666 persons infected with the outbreak strain of SalmonellaTyphimurium have been reported from 45 states. The number of ill persons identified in each state is as follows: Alabama (2), Arizona (13), Arkansas (6), California (76), Colorado (17), Connecticut (10), Florida (1), Georgia (6), Hawaii (6), Idaho (17), Illinois (10), Indiana (10), Iowa (3), Kansas (2), Kentucky (3), Maine (5), Maryland (10), Massachusetts (48), Michigan (36), Minnesota (42), Missouri (15), Mississippi (7), Montana (2), Nebraska (1), New Hampshire (13), New Jersey (23), New York (30), Nevada (6), North Carolina (6), North Dakota (17), Ohio (94), Oklahoma (4), Oregon (12), Pennsylvania (19), Rhode Island (5), South Dakota (4), Tennessee (14), Texas (10), Utah (6), Vermont (4), Virginia (21), Washington (21), West Virginia (2), Wisconsin (5), and Wyoming (2). Additionally, one ill person was reported from Canada.