Princess Health and Salmonella outbreak in 35 states linked to live poultry; 21 cases reported in Kentucky; here are some tips to avoid infection . Princessiccia

Princess Health and Salmonella outbreak in 35 states linked to live poultry; 21 cases reported in Kentucky; here are some tips to avoid infection . Princessiccia

bacterial infections children's health farmer infections salmonella

Gusty 05:43 Add Comment

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention photo

Poultry specialists from the University of Kentucky are urging Kentuckians who raise chickens or ducks to take extra precautions against salmonella infection, since 21 cases have been reported in the state.

�Any contact with live poultry puts you at risk for salmonella infection,� Jacqueline Jacob, UK poultry extension project manager for the College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, said in a news release. �Salmonella germs can be in the birds� droppings and on their bodies and also on their cages, coops, hay, plants and the soil where they live and roam.�

Salmonella is a bacteria that makes people sick. Symptoms usually develop 12 to 72 hours after exposure and include diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps. The illness usually lasts four to seven days. Children under 5, adults older than 65 and those with weakened immune systems are at the greatest risk of being severely affected.

These infections are part of a seven-state salmonella outbreak that have all been linked to contact with life poultry from multiple hatcheries. Jacob cautioned that any chicken can carry salmonella, even if it looks clean and healthy.

So far, more than 300 people have been infected, with more than one-fourth of those children aged 5 or younger, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

�Many of the cases in the current outbreak are linked to backyard flocks, so we want to remind folks of simple things they can do to protect themselves," Jacob said.

Tips to avoid infection:

• Wash hands thoroughly with soap and water immediately after touching live poultry or anything in the area where they live.
• Do not let live poultry inside the house, or around areas where food or drink is located.
• Do not let children younger than 5 handle or touch live poultry without supervision.
• Adults should supervise the handwashing of young children.
• Keep poultry away from your nose, mouth and eyes.
• Wash your hands with sanitizer that has a 99 percent or higher bacteria kill rate after handling poultry at shows and fairs.

�It�s also a good practice to be careful when you wash equipment or eggs in the kitchen sink,� Jacob said. �You don�t want to cross contaminate food. Always use a good disinfectant to clean up in the kitchen when you�re finished.�

Click here for more advice from the CDC for backyard flock owners.

Princess Health and Measles is still around; rate in 2011 was highest in 15 years.Princessiccia

Princess Health and Measles is still around; rate in 2011 was highest in 15 years.Princessiccia

infections measles public health vaccinations

Gusty 15:39 Add Comment

Measles virus (Photo by Scott Camazine/CDC/Getty Images)

In 2000, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention declared measles had been eliminated in the United States. But last year, the nation had the most cases of the infectious disease since 1997.

A report released last week shows there were 222 cases of measles and 17 measles outbreaks in 2011. In a typical year, there are usually just 50 to 60 cases. This year, there have already been 25 cases.

"Of the 222 reported cases, 50 percent were associated with the 17 outbreaks and 90 percent were associated with importations from foreign countries � 26 percent from U.S. residents traveling abroad and 10 percent from foreign visitors," reports Alexandra Sifferlin for Time magazine.

Each case is treated with intense investigation because of the highly contagious nature of the virus. "You can catch measles just by being in a room where someone with measles has been, even if they left," said Dr. Anne Schuchat, director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diesease. "It's serious; one out of three people who got it last year had to be hospitalized." No one died, however.

Of the 196 U.S. residents who contracted the virus last year, 166 had not been or did not know if they had been vaccinated. More than 80 percent of them were eligible for vaccine.

"Many people think diseases like measles are gone and that they do not need to vaccinate themselves or their children," Sifferlin reports. "But the CDC warns measles is still prevalent worldwide. Globally, about 20 million people get measles each year." (Read more)