The Illinois Department of Public Health in cooperation with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the USDA-FSIS are evaluating an outbreak of salmonellosis (serotype not specified) attributed to consumption of undercooked ground beef.  To date 26 confirmed cases have been reported in seven counties dating from late April through mid-May.  It is possible that additional cases have been diagnosed in adjoining states.  The source of potentially contaminated ground beef has yet to be determined but given the extent of the outbreak, investigators should be able to isolate the causal pathogen in a package in a refrigerator located in the home of a patient or infected family.

In the interim, county and city health departments are emphasizing the need to thoroughly cook ground beef to a temperature of 160 F verifying temperature with a food thermometer.

It is possible that the emergence of cases is related to the beginning of the grilling season with inexperienced cooks searing the outside of burgers, without attaining an adequate interior temperature that may have viable Salmonella organisms.