Salmonella outbreak linked to backyard poultry

OLYMPIA — A health advisory has been issued for a salmonella outbreak linked to contact with backyard poultry that has sickened at least one in Clallam County and 20 statewide.

With four recent cases reported in Clallam, Island, Spokane and Stevens counties, the state Department of Health is reminding the public to wash hands with soap and water after touching live poultry and "don't snuggle or kiss live poultry."

"Salmonella can cause serious illness, and can spread from animals to people and from people to people," Hanna Oltean, who investigates diseases carried by animals, in a Friday press release from the state health department.

"You can get the infection from a variety of sources, including eating or drinking contaminated food or water or touching infected animals and not washing your hands."

Dr. Tom Locke, Jefferson County public health officer and interim Clallam County health officer, said the Clallam County case is the only report of salmonella infection on the North Olympic Peninsula so far this year.

"This is probably the tip of the iceberg," Locke said of the reported cases.

"In healthy adults, salmonella tends to be kind of mild diarrheal disease. One of the thoughts behind the public health advisory is there is probably more of it out there than we're seeing in these statistics, and it's preventable."

While anyone can get a salmonella infection, children are especially at risk because they are less likely to wash their hands and have more frequent hand-to-mouth contact than adults, health officials said.

Symptoms of salmonella infection typically begin one to three days after exposure and include diarrhea, fever, and stomach pain.

State health officials said anyone who owns backyard poultry should keep the following safety tips in mind.

• Always wash hands with soap and water after touching live poultry or anything in the area where they live and roam.

Even healthy-looking chickens, ducks, geese, and turkeys can carry the salmonella bacteria.

• Don't snuggle or kiss live poultry or allow them in family living spaces.

• Don't eat or drink where poultry live or roam.

• Adults should supervise young children when handling live poultry.

There were 23 salmonella cases reported in Washington in 2017, the most for the state in one year. The 2017 outbreak corresponded with a national outbreak linked to backyard poultry.

"This is not the first time this has happened," Locke said in a Friday interview.

Of the 20 cases in the current outbreak, eight have required hospitalizations.