Dozens of people across the U.S. have fallen ill with Salmonella in an outbreak linked with papaya imported from Mexico, with a third of cases occurring in New York.
The fruit has caused 62 people across eight states to get sick from Salmonella Uganda, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a food safety alert out Friday.
A majority of the cases have occurred since April, however there have been cases reported as early as January this year. No deaths have been reported as a result of the Salmonella outbreak, but 23 people have been hospitalized, the CDC states.
Most of the cases have occurred in the Northeast. Outbreaks have been reported in New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Florida, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Texas.
More than a third of the cases have occurred in New York, with 24 incidents linked to the imported papaya.
To avoid becoming sick with the bacterial disease, the CDC advises that those in states where papaya is imported from Mexico not eat the fruit.
“Consumers in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island who have whole, fresh papayas imported from Mexico in their homes should not eat them. Throw the papayas away, even if some of them were eaten and no one has gotten sick,” the CDC advises.
Additionally, the CDC advises people not eat fruit salads or other mixes that include the fruit from Mexico. The CDC advises asking the place of purchase where the papaya came from, and when unsure if it’s from Mexico, throwing out the fruit. People are also urged to wash and sanitize counter tops, refrigerators, drawers, shelves or other places where the papaya may have been stored.
Salmonella symptoms usually occur within 12 to 72 hours of eating the fruit. While the illness typically lasts four to seven days, some can fall severely ill and need hospitalization. Common symptoms include diarrhea, fever and stomach cramps, according to the CDC.
Source: Kassidy Vavra, NY Daily News