Salmonella Updates
October 18th, 2019
Dear Campus Community,
The Maryland Department of Health has confirmed that they are currently aware of 13 cases of Salmonella that have occurred within our campus community, with the last reported symptom onset of 9/20/19. As stated in the previous communication, the suspected cause in most of the cases was traced to Moby Dick House of Kabob hummus in restaurant chain locations across the region, including an independently owned location on campus. The restaurant chain voluntarily suspended the sale of hummus, and MDH recommended that consumers discard hummus purchased from any Moby Dick House of Kabob. As of October 4th, Moby Dick's House of Kabob was approved to resume the manufacturing of hummus.
While the likely source has been determined, we continue to encourage students and staff to contact their healthcare provider if they are experiencing diarrhea, blood in the stool, fever or abdominal pain.
Salmonella is a bacterial infection that can be passed through contaminated food or from contact with an infected animal. Please continue to follow the tips below to lower your chances of getting a Salmonella infection:
- Use safe practices when cooking. Wash your hands and any other utensils or surfaces that have been in contact with raw meat or poultry. Wash your hands in between handling different kinds of foods. Wash fresh produce thoroughly before eating; cook foods to recommended safe temperatures; and keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold. Avoid foods containing raw eggs or raw (unpasteurized) milk.
- Be careful with food in warm weather. Warmer weather and unrefrigerated foods create ideal conditions for Salmonella to grow. Be sure to refrigerate or freeze foods that are likely to spoil or go bad quickly, prepared foods, and leftovers within 2 hours (or 1 hour if the temperature outside is 90°F or hotter).
- Wash your hands. Salmonella can spread from animals to people and from people to people. Always wash your hands after contact with animals. Wash your hands after using the toilet, changing diapers, or helping someone with diarrhea clean up after using the toilet.
For future updates from the MDH, please visit their website at health.maryland.gov/. Learn more about the university's Dining Services efforts to maintain food safety here.
Sincerely,
University Health Center
Previous Updates
September 27th, 2019
Dear campus community,
The Maryland Department of Health has announced an ongoing investigation into a cluster of Salmonella infections. While the exact cause of the infections has not been determined, eight of nine confirmed cases reported consuming Moby Dick House of Kabob hummus. The restaurant chain, which has locations across the region, including an independently owned location on campus, has voluntarily suspended sale of hummus. MDH recommends that consumers discard hummus purchased from any Moby Dick House of Kabob.
At the time of this message, we are currently aware of five campus community members who have confirmed cases of Salmonella. If you have recently eaten food from Moby Dick House of Kabob and are experiencing diarrhea, blood in the stool, fever or abdominal pain, you should contact your healthcare provider.
As mentioned in my message to the campus on September 20, Salmonella is a bacterial infection that can be passed through contaminated food or from contact with an infected animal. Please follow the tips below to lower your chance of getting a Salmonella infection:
- Use safe practices when cooking. Wash your hands and any other utensils or surfaces that have been in contact with raw meat or poultry. Wash your hands in between handling different kinds of foods. Wash fresh produce thoroughly before eating; cook foods to recommended safe temperatures; and keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold. Avoid foods containing raw eggs or raw (unpasteurized) milk.
- Be careful with food in warm weather. Warmer weather and unrefrigerated foods create ideal conditions for Salmonella to grow. Be sure to refrigerate or freeze foods that are likely to spoil or go bad quickly, prepared foods, and leftovers within 2 hours (or 1 hour if the temperature outside is 90°F or hotter).
- Wash your hands. Salmonella can spread from animals to people and from people to people. Always wash your hands after contact with animals. Wash your hands after using the toilet, changing diapers, or helping someone with diarrhea clean up after using the toilet.
For future updates on the MDH investigation, please visit their website at https://health.maryland.gov/. In the meantime, feel free to learn about the university's Dining Services efforts to maintain food safety here.
Sincerely,
Dr. David McBride
Director, University Health Center