MONTGOMERY, Ala. - The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says nine Alabama cases of salmonella poisoning have been reported in a national outbreak linked to peanut butter.
State epidemiologist Dr. J.P. Lofgren said medical officials across the state have been sending patient cultures to the CDC, which determined they were the "Salomella Tennessee" strain involved in the other cases.
"Based on the fact that these cultures have the same fingerprinting, we presume that our nine also got it from peanut butter," Lofgren said Friday.
Nearly 300 people in 39 states have fallen ill since August. Federal health investigators said they strongly suspect Peter Pan peanut butter and certain batches of Wal-Mart's Great Value house brand - both manufactured by ConAgra Foods Inc. - in the outbreak.
Shoppers across the country were warned to throw out jars with a product code on the lid beginning with "2111," which denotes the plant where it was made.
Lofgren said Alabama's cases have been "in the more recent time frame" within the past two months. Those who ate the peanut butter months ago shouldn't worry about salmonella because the sickness would have set in within 72 hours of consumption, he said.
Salmonella sickens about 40,000 people a year in the U.S. and kills about 600. It can cause diarrhea, fever, dehydration, abdominal pain and vomiting.
Because peanuts usually are heated to high, germ-killing temperatures during the manufacturing process, government and industry officials said the contamination may have been caused by dirty jars or equipment.
"It's a surprising result, which is why it's taken public health so long to kind of narrow it down," Lofgren said. "Peanut butter has so little water available for bacteria to grow - even mold doesn't' really grow on it - so it's very unusual."
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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: http://www.cdc.gov/
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