It’s no “chicken-and-egg” situation when determining how more than 900 people picked up salmonella infections so far this year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The outbreaks are linked to contact with live, noncommercial poultry, such as chickens or ducks, which are growing in popularity as pets and as local food sources for backyard farmers.
Salmonella can live undetected inside the birds’ gastrointestinal and reproductive tracts without harming them, but if the bacteria is ingested by humans, it can cause diarrhea, fever and abdominal pain that sometimes leads to hospitalization or in rare cases death.
As of Aug. 11, Tennessee had 43 reported cases in 2017 – tying it with Florida for the fifth most in the country – while Georgia and Alabama combined had 41 cases.
Dr. Marcy Souza, an avian veterinarian and public health professor at the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine, said the rise in salmonella outbreaks is a classic example of a public health crisis where there’s a need for more education and collaboration between people and veterinarians.