There’s a salmonella outbreak that has seen 63 cases in six Canadian provinces — and no one yet knows how it started.
That’s according to the Public Health Agency of Canada, which warned on Friday of cases that have hit every province west of the Atlantic region.
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The salmonella cases broke down like this:
- British Columbia — 23
- Alberta — 10
- Saskatchewan — 8
- Manitoba — 10
- Ontario — 10
- Quebec — 2
People were sickened between November 2018 and March of this year, the agency added. The outbreak has sent 18 people to hospital, and two people have died.
However, it’s not clear whether salmonella was a contributing cause in those deaths.
People who were sickened amid the outbreak were between one and 87 years old, and most cases (57 per cent) involved females.
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More cases could be reported because as many as four to five weeks can pass between the time when a person becomes sick and the illness is reported to public health officials, the agency said.
However, “the source of the outbreak has not been identified, and the investigation is ongoing,” it added.
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Amid the outbreak, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is doing a food safety investigation — if it finds that foods have been contaminated then they’ll take “necessary steps” to protect people, which could include food recalls.
There are, at present, no food recall warnings associated with the outbreak.
To avoid salmonella illnesses, the Public Health Agency of Canada has numerous tips.
The main practice to follow is to ensure you’re handling food safely every day.
That can include washing your hands with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds before you touch and prepare food, and not eating raw or undercooked foods such as poultry, fish, meats, shellfish and egg products.
The agency recommended that raw foods such as meat, fish, poultry and eggs be cooked to a “safe internal temperature” to make sure it’s safe to eat them.
Microwaving such raw food is not recommended because, internally, they could be heated unevenly, it added.
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