University Hygienic Lab ties sausage to salmonella outbreak

IOWA CITY - University Hygienic Laboratory has linked a package of sausage to a nationwide salmonella outbreak.

The lab, based at the University of Iowa's Oakdale campus, conducted testing on a leftover frozen sausage product in the freezer of the only Iowa case tied to the outbreak.

Results from that test Monday confirmed the strain - salmonella Montevideo - was the same as that involved in the nationwide outbreak.

The lab was the first to confirm the connection.

Rhode Island-based Daniele International announced a recall this weekend of more than 1.2 million pounds of ready-to-eat sausage products because of possible salmonella contamination.

At the time, the company said no direct link had tied its products to the nationwide outbreak.

As of this week, 187 people from 39 states have been sickened by the same salmonella strain, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. No deaths were reported.

Anyone with a recalled sausage or salami product should return it to where it was purchased or dispose of it in a closed plastic bag, placed in a sealed trash can.

Symptoms of salmonella include diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps 12 to 72 hours after infection. The illness usually lasts four to seven days.

Infants, the elderly and people with weakened immune systems are more likely than others to develop severe illness.

The Iowa woman, in Plymouth County, whose case was tied to the outbreak has since recovered.

For more information, call Daniele's hot line at (888) 345-4160 or see www.fsis.usda.gov