Another Salmonella Outbreak Linked to Backyard Chickens, Ducks

Advice to backyard flock owners ​

1. Wash your hands. If you have feathered friends in your backyard, the CDC advises you to always wash your hands with soap and water right after touching birds, their eggs or anything else where they roam. Use hand sanitizer if soap and water are not available.

2. Supervise children. Adults should supervise young children when cleaning their hands after touching birds. Children younger than 5 years old shouldn’t handle birds, since they are more prone to get sick.​

3. Collect eggs often. Eggs that sit in the nest can become dirty or break. If an egg appears cracked, throw it away because germs can enter through the crack. If a shell appears dirty, clean it with fine sandpaper, a brush or a cloth. Warm eggs should not be washed because cold water can pull germs into the egg. Refrigerate eggs to slow germ growth.​

4. Cook eggs thoroughly. The CDC recommends cooking eggs until the yolk and white are firm, with an internal temperature of at least 160 degrees Fahrenheit. Raw and undercooked eggs may contain salmonella and make you sick.​​

Symptoms of a salmonella infection 

​Salmonellosis, the intestinal infection caused by the salmonella bacteria, typically leads to diarrhea, fever and stomach cramps. In severe cases the infection can spread from the intestines to the urine, blood, bones, joints, spinal fluid or brain. Symptoms generally begin six hours to six days after infection and can last up to seven days. However, in some instances, symptoms can appear weeks after infection or remain for several weeks, according to the CDC.​

A confirmed diagnosis is made when a lab test determines if the bacteria is present in a person’s stool, body tissue or fluids. Typically, most people can recover without an antibiotic, but treatment is recommended for anyone with severe illness. Infected adults over age 65 (or over 50 if an underlying condition such as heart disease is present), infants and those with a weakened immune system are also advised to take an antibiotic.​

​​Aaron Kassraie writes about issues important to military veterans and their families for AARP. He also serves as a general assignment reporter. Kassraie previously covered U.S. foreign policy as a correspondent for the Kuwait News Agency’s Washington bureau and worked in news gathering for USA Today and Al Jazeera English.​​