The number of Pennsylvanians sickened in a regional salmonella outbreak increased to 210 today, the state Department of Health reported.
Maryland and Ohio officials are reporting a combined 49 cases of salmonella among people who recently ate at Sheetz convenience stores, the chain where people in Pennsylvania were exposed to salmonella through food says Christopher Snowbeck reporting for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
A West Virginia epidemiologist did not have an updated total on cases in that state. In Virginia, officials are looking at five cases that might be connected to Sheetz.
Health officials suspect tomatoes or lettuce served at Sheetz were contaminated prior to their arrival at the stores, but it’s not clear how.
People who were sickened in the outbreak ate at Sheetz during the first 10 days or so of July. But now it appears that some who were sick ate at Sheetz in late June, as well.
The state Department of Agriculture announced today that it is currently testing seven food samples for clues about the contamination source – two more samples than had been collected yesterday. Test results aren’t expected until Monday.