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TORONTO — Four Canadians, including two Alberta men who travelled to Texas on business, have contracted the strain of salmonella responsible for a large food poisoning outbreak in the United States.
The Public Health Agency of Canada says two people each from Ontario and Alberta have tested positive for a strain of Salmonella Saintpaul that matches the genetic fingerprint of the U.S. outbreak strain.
It is thought all four were infected while travelling south of the border, where nearly 950 cases have been confirmed.
But the agency, which issued the updated figure today, said it still appears that the contaminated foodstuff behind the outbreak isn't being distributed in Canada.
“I would think we would be seeing more cases here if we actually did have the source here,” said Dr. Andrea Ellis, an epidemiologist with the agency's centre for foodborne, environmental and zoonotic diseases.
Tomatoes were first implicated in that outbreak, but recently investigators have been looking at ingredients of fresh salsa – things like jalapeno peppers, onions, and spices – as a possible culprit.
The U.S. outbreak, which seems to have begun in April, involves at least 943 cases in 40 states and the District of Columbia. Texas is by far the hardest-hit state, with three-and-a-half times more cases (356) than the closest runner-up, New Mexico (98). Most affected states have reported a smattering of cases.
Last week, the Public Health Agency reported the first case in this country, in an Ontario resident who had been travelling in the U.S. just before falling ill.
Dr. Ellis said there have now been four confirmed cases, but she wouldn't disclose genders, ages or specific locations where the people lived.
But John Tuckwell, a spokesperson for Alberta's department of health and wellness, said the two cases from that province were men who got sick after returning from a business trip to Texas.
Mark Nesbitt, a spokesperson for the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, said he didn't have details about where the Ontario cases may have travelled.
Dr. Ellis said the investigation into the second Ontario case is ongoing, but stressed that it appears the as-yet-unidentified source of the outbreak is not being sold in Canada. “At this point in time we certainly haven't had evidence of this – whatever it is – being here in Canada.”
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, the rate of illness is highest among people aged 20 to 29 and lowest in children aged 10 to 19 years and in people 80 and older.
At least 130 persons have been hospitalized as a consequence of the outbreak and one man in his 80s died. Another man, a cancer patient in his 60s, was infected with the strain when he died; the infection may have contributed to his death, the CDC said.
Dr. Ellis said as far as the Public Health Agency knows, all the Canadian cases have recuperated or are recuperating.
People infected with salmonella generally develop diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps within 12 to 72 hours after infection, and illness usually lasts four to seven days. Although most people recover without treatment, there can be severe cases in which infection spreads into the bloodstream and to other parts of the body. Such infections can be fatal.
