The source of a recent outbreak of salmonella poisoning affecting people in both the Netherlands and the United States have been traced back to a Dutch company that specializes in manufacturing smoked salmon products according to the Irish Times.
So far, the outbreak has killed three elderly Dutch citizens. It has also made approximately 1,000 other individuals seriously ill across both countries. Many of those people have been hospitalized in order to undergo treatment for serious contamination. The deaths of the three Dutch elderly people have been officially confirmed at this point by the National Institute of Public Health.
The strain of salmonella responsible for the breakout has been further identified as “salmonella Thompson”.
The National Institute of Public Health is currently working closely with both the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the US, as well as the Centre for Disease Control to solve the problem.
Extensive efforts are being made to track the contaminated fish supplies and remove them from shelves and pantries. Efforts are also being made to closely monitor those who have become ill as a result of the outbreak.
So far, 18 of the people who have been hospitalized due to salmonella infection are planning to initiate legal action against the company responsible for the contaminated salmon. The company is known as Foppen and is based in Harderwijk, a Dutch seaport.
So far, there have been no American deaths reported in conjunction with this particular salmonella outbreak, although an estimated 100 people have become seriously ill because of it. About 10 of those people have been hospitalized in order to undergo treatment.
At this point, all of the products containing any of the contaminated fish have been pulled from grocery store shelves. Foppen has also ceased production of its smoked salmon products until further notice.
