Multistate outbreaks of Salmonella infections associated with live poultry–United States, 2007

During June 2007, the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) Public Health Laboratory examined specimens from two ill persons and identified Salmonella Montevideo isolates with the same pulsed-field gel electrophoresis pattern (PFGE pattern 1). MDH officials interviewed the patients and determined that both had been exposed to chickens originating from the same Iowa hatchery (hatchery A). In September 2007, a cluster of seven additional infections with PFGE pattern 1 was identified in North Dakota; all seven patients had been exposed to baby chicks obtained from hatchery A. A subsequent nationwide investigation identified a total of 65 S. Montevideo isolates with PFGE pattern 1 during 2007 and a likely association with exposure to live poultry purchased at feed stores or by mail order from hatchery A or seven other hatcheries in four states. Meanwhile, throughout 2007, a separate outbreak was occurring that involved infections with a different S. Montevideo strain (PFGE pattern 2). A total of 64 of those isolates were identified in 23 states during 2007. Exposure to live poultry from a hatchery in New Mexico (hatchery B) and a hatchery in Ohio (hatchery C) was associated with those infections. This report describes two distinct and unrelated outbreaks, which demonstrate the ongoing risk for Salmonella infection from live poultry purchased from agricultural feed stores or directly from mail order hatcheries. The mail order hatchery industry is a source of bird-associated human pathogens, such as Salmonella, and comprehensive infection-control strategies are needed to prevent additional illnesses resulting from live poultry contact.