Between August 2010 and June 2011, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) counted 109 people in 38 states infected with a commercial strain of Salmonella Typhimurium most commonly found in microbiology laboratories.
The outbreak, which hospitalised 13 individuals and resulted in one death, is notable because of its association with educational and clinical labs instead of food. Sixty percent of the ill reported being in or near microbiological labs in the week before their illness began, compared with two percent of respondents in the CDC investigation’s control group.
The number of ill also included several children living in the same household as someone who worked or studied in a microbiology laboratory, further suggesting that the infections came from neglectful exposure within a lab setting: Individuals likely improperly handled bacteria samples, which they then transferred to themselves or others.
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