Number of illnesses linked to petfood made at Diamond Pet Foods' South Carolina,USA, facility expected to increase further in coming months
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that at least 49 people have been sickened since October 2011 from a Salmonella infantis outbreak linked to recalled petfood made at Diamond Pet Foods' manufacturing facility in Gaston, South Carolina, USA.
In its final outbreak update, CDC increased the number of human Salmonella cases from 22, in its previous update on June 13, to at least 49 cases linked to the recalled dog food and cat food. Of those human illness cases, 47 are from the US and two are from Canada. The number ill by US state is as follows: Alabama (2), Arkansas (2), California (3), Connecticut (2), Georgia (2), Illinois (4), Indiana (1), Kentucky (1), Michigan (2), Minnesota (1), Missouri (3), New Jersey (2), New York (5), North Carolina (5), Ohio (3), Oklahoma (1), Pennsylvania (3), South Carolina (2), Texas (1) and Virginia (2). Among the 24 cases with information available, 10 people have been hospitalized and no deaths have been reported.
CDC anticipates that more cases will occur in the future because the expected shelf life of the petfood is one year.