1985 United States salmonellosis outbreak

The 1985 United States salmonellosis outbreak was Salmonella typhimurium in milk from the Hillfarm Dairy in Melrose Park, Illinois. It was the worst outbreak of salmonellosis food poisoning in United States history at the time. At least 16,284 people were infected, all but 1,059 of them from Illinois. The others were in Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Two people died and the infection was a contributing factor in the deaths of "four, possibly five, others".^[1][2]

See also

• 2008 United States salmonellosis outbreak

References

1. Chris Lecos (February 1, 1986). "Of microbes and milk; probing America's worst salmonella outbreak". FDA Consumer. At least 16,284 persons are known victims of the outbreak, all but 1,059 of them from Illinois. The others lived in Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin. That is the number of culture-confirmed cases, meaning the Salmonella typhimurium strain that was contaminating the milk they drank also was found in stool samples from the victims. Patricia J. Larsen, a spokeswoman for the Illinois Department of Public Health, said the organism "directly caused" the deaths of two people and was a contributing factor in the deaths of four, possibly five, others. The latter were people with other conditions that "presumably were aggravated to some degree by the infection," she said.
2. "Salmonella Outbreak is Traced". United Press International in the New York Times. April 17, 1985. Retrieved 2011-09-29. About 6,644 cases of samonella poisoning have been reported and 5,295 have been confirmed in five states, most of them in Illinois, according to Jeremy Margolis, the acting Illinois public health director. At least nine deaths have been linked to the outbreak. The other states affected by the outbreak were Indiana, Iowa, Michigan and Wisconsin.