Salmonella can lead to fever, diarrhea that is often bloody, nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain, and, now, students at an Ohio high school are suffering from these and other symptoms believed to have originated with contaminated food According to the Morning Journal, citing Lorain County Health Department officials, there has been an outbreak involving eight […]
<"https://www.yourlawyer.com/practice_areas/food_poisoning">Salmonella can lead to fever, diarrhea that is often bloody, nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain, and, now, students at an Ohio high school are suffering from these and other symptoms believed to have originated with contaminated food
According to the Morning Journal, citing Lorain County Health Department officials, there has been an outbreak involving eight students at the Clearview High School involving what seems to be Salmonella poisoning.
The outbreak appears to be linked to a football team dinner two weeks prior. According to Health Commissioner Ken Pearce, investigators believe some illnesses manifested as strep throat in the upper respiratory area, wrote the Morning Journal.
“Our focus is on that little football dinner,†said Pearce, quoted the Morning Journal. “But it’s not confirmed that that’s what caused it,†Pearce added.
All the sickened students have returned to school and, last week, investigators who are looking for similarities in the illnesses interviewed the Clearview students, said the Morning Journal. Stool samples were also collected.
Pearce said that not all of the illnesses involved diarrhea and that the norovirus—also known as the Norwalk virus—has been eliminated. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the norovirus, which causes inflammation of the stomach and intestine lining, involves diarrhea, vomiting, and stomach pain, said the Morning Journal.
Salmonella passes to humans through ingestion of food contaminated with animal feces, said the CDC, wrote the Morning Journal. Foods involved are typically from animals including beef, poultry, or dairy products, noted the Morning Journal.
The health department is awaiting test results from investigators who are conducting tests to determine if the eight cases originated with the same food, noted the Morning Journal. In the meantime, school lunch menus are being reviewed to determine if the culprit is related to food that the students ate during the day, explained the Morning Journal.
Although the Morning Journal attempted to contact Clearview High School, officials did not return their calls. It also remains unclear who provided food to the football team.
Healthy persons infected with Salmonella poisoning—Salmonellosis—often experience fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. In rare circumstances, infection with Salmonella can result in the organism getting into the bloodstream and producing more severe illnesses such as arterial infections, endocarditic, and arthritis.
Salmonella can also lead to serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems.
