County health district confirms 19 salmonella cases
Strain contracted from tri-tip served at hospice event
The Yuma County Health District has received 19 confirmations of salmonella stemming from a recent Yuma event from the 20 samples it submitted for state testing.
District Director Becky Brooks said they received results for all the samples they'd submitted to the state this week. Nineteen were positive for having contracted a strain of salmonella from beef tri-tip served at the Hospice of Yuma roping roundup, barbecue and western dance at the Yuma County Fairgrounds on Feb. 2.
Some meat was later taken home by volunteers or donated to Crossroads Mission. Some cases of illnesses were traced to those incidences.
One sample tested came from a person who had not eaten the meat in question. It was diagnosed as a different strain of salmonella - salmonella typhumurium. That was a separate case not stemming from the tri-tip.
"We get salmonella cases all the time so an isolated case is not unusual," Brooks said.
While all the samples are back the investigation itself continues how the meat became tainted. A total of 120 interviews were done with patients who complained of illness, including the 20 who were tested.
The health district was not able to obtain samples in these cases because the illness had already run its course.
According to Brooks, of the 120 people interviewed: 55 had eaten at Crossroads, 34 were event volunteers from the Yuma County Sheriff's Office, 25 had attended the hospice event and 5 did not attend but had eaten left-over tri-tip.
Health investigators, acting on instruction from the state Department of Health Services, are now going back to Hospice to collect swabs from coolers, slicers and other preparation area where the meat have been become contaminated.
Food-handlers and cooks will be interviewed in a process that's expected to take one or two weeks.
The state will finish a full analysis and report in that time frame.
Hospice of Yuma has referred all comments to the health district.
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Sarah Reynolds can be reached at sreynolds@yumasun.com or 539-6847.
