Papayas linked to outbreak of salmonellosis; over 60 ill

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I really like fruits and berries. All kinds of fruits are my go-to snacks and over the past few years I’ve discovered how much I like tropical fruits like mango and papaya.

My favs aren’t immune from outbreaks. In 2017, an outbreak of Salmonella Anatum was linked to papaya.

And today CDC and FDA announced another outbreak of Salmonella (this time Uganda) traced to the fruit, causing at least 62 illnesses to date (with 23 hospitalizations).

According to the CDC release, there’s some notable stuff:

  • Of 33 ill people with available information, 22 reported being of Hispanic ethnicity.
  • The hospitalization rate in this outbreak is 66 percent among people with information available. The hospitalization rate in Salmonella outbreaks is usually around 20 percent.
  • Most of the sick people in this outbreak are adults over 60.

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About Ben Chapman

Dr. Ben Chapman is a professor and food safety extension specialist at North Carolina State University. As a teenager, a Saturday afternoon viewing of the classic cable movie, Outbreak, sparked his interest in pathogens and public health. With the goal of less foodborne illness, his group designs, implements, and evaluates food safety strategies, messages, and media from farm-to-fork. Through reality-based research, Chapman investigates behaviors and creates interventions aimed at amateur and professional food handlers, managers, and organizational decision-makers; the gate keepers of safe food. Ben co-hosts a biweekly podcast called Food Safety Talk and tries to further engage folks online through Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and, maybe not surprisingly, Pinterest. Follow on Twitter @benjaminchapman.