Public Health is investigating an outbreak of salmonellosis (caused by Salmonella bacteria) associated with a Good Vibe Tribe Luau held on 7/3/16 from 6:00-11:00 PM at Golden Gardens Park in Seattle. You can read more details about what we know about the ongoing investigation here.
Some questions you may have:
- Who got sick? UPDATED 7/20
See the updated case count chart at www.kingcounty.gov/outbreak. None of the ill people were hospitalized. All the people who got sick attended the luau and of the people with whom we have spoken ate pork. You can read a statement from the event organizer here and find out more about the event here. - Public Health is asking people who went to the event to fill out a survey about what they ate and what they didn’t eat. Should people who attended the event but didn’t get sick fill it out?
Yes. We are better able to determine what food might have made people sick by comparing food histories of those who got sick with those who didn’t get sick. - Do we know of anyone else who may have gotten sick? UPDATED 7/19
There are no additional known cases in King County that we are aware of right now other than the cases mentioned in the table on the outbreak page. We investigate Salmonella cases very regularly. At this point, any person who is reported with Salmonella will be asked about attendance at the event and foods consumed there. We will update our outbreak page and this blog post if our case count increases. - Pork and Salmonella sounds familiar – does this have anything to do with the outbreak that happened last summer? UPDATED 7/19
We are still investigating that. We know that the pork served at the luau was supplied by Kapowsin Meats, and we know that everyone we have spoken with who got sick after the luau had eaten the pork that was served there. We also know that the genetic fingerprint of cases in this outbreak matches the fingerprint of the Salmonella outbreak cases from last year. However, there were many other foods served at the event. We are still investigating food source and preparation procedures for all items to confirm which item might have made people ill. Information from the survey about foods consumed by ill and non-ill attendees will also help to guide our investigation. - UPDATE: Is Public Health concerned we may have an outbreak like we did last year?
Yes. We are very concerned that this outbreak could be related to the Kapowsin Meats outbreak from last year. We have laboratory evidence suggesting a link. We are making every effort to work swiftly with our state and federal partners including the regulatory agencies involved to confirm the source and stop the outbreak quickly so that many fewer people are affected. - When will we know more? UPDATED 7/19
Surveys and other information are coming in on an ongoing basis. We will update this blog and our outbreak page each afternoon as information becomes available. - What can you tell me about salmonellosis?
You can read more about Salmonella here, but these are the basics: Salmonellosis is a bacterial infection that is often spread through the fecal-oral route, through contaminated food and water, or through contact with animals and their environments. Symptoms of salmonellosis include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, headache, fever, chills, and abdominal cramping. Illness typically lasts several days and people can spread infection to others even after symptoms resolve. To prevent Salmonella infection:- Wash hands with soap and water after going to the bathroom, changing diapers, touching animals, and before eating or preparing food.- Cook all meats thoroughly, especially poultry.- Wash cutting boards and counters used for meat or poultry preparation immediately after use to avoid cross contaminating other foods.- For more information about salmonellosis, click here and here.
– For information on how to safely cook a pig, click here.