Salmonella-linked sushi toll climbs to 316

By Linda Carroll

The toll from latest outbreak of salmonella-spiked sushi has climbed to 316, according to a new government report.

And that number may be a huge underestimate, since food safety officials estimate that for every salmonella infection they hear about, 29.3 go unreported. Using that multiplier, the total number of tuna-sickened Americans may be closer to 9,575. ?

CDC

Tainted tuna scraped from the backbone of the fish has been implicated in salmonella outbreak that has sickened hundreds across 26 states and Washington, D.C.

The outbreak has been widespread, with people sickened in 26 states as well as the District of Columbia, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

So far, 304 people have been diagnosed?the rare?salmonella Bareilly strain, while?another 12 have become ill with salmonella Nchanga, the CDC reported.

While 37 have been hospitalized, no deaths have been attributed to the tainted tuna thus far, according to the CDC.
The toll could grow; illnesses that occurred after April 17 might not have been recorded yet because of the lag between when people get sick and when they report to health officials.?

Agency investigators determined that the likely culprit was frozen raw yellow fin tuna, known as Nakaochi Scrape, made by Moon Marine USA Corporation. Government labs have isolated Salmonella from 96 percent of the samples taken from intact yellow fin tuna scrape produced by Moon Marine. In April, Moon Marine recalled 58,828 pounds of the frozen tuna product. It wasn't for sale to individual customers, but may have been used to make sushi, sashimi, ceviche and similar dishes in restaurants and grocery stores.

More on contaminated sushi outbreak:

Heavy metal singer slammed by salmonella sushi
Hundreds sickened by tainted sushi

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