Salmonella outbreak in Auburn day care center not food-related according to health officials
At least four children who attend an Auburn, AL daycare have contracted Salmonella infections during the past several weeks, prompting health officials in Lee County to investigate.
Milestones Learning Center in Auburn, AL Photo/WTVM9 Video Screen Shot
According to local station WTVM.com, the director at Milestones Learning Center in Auburn said the four children were sickened separately between September 24 and October 13.
The director says they took immediate action and reported the cases to the state health department.
A health department investigation concluded the infection was not food-related; therefore, it is believed to have been contracted from outside the center.
Meanwhile, the East Alabama Medical Center has confirmed to WSFA that one patient has tested positive for salmonella and officials say another patient has been hospitalized with symptoms of salmonella, according to the report.
Salmonella is an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy persons infected with Salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain.
In rare circumstances, infection with Salmonella can result in the organism getting into the bloodstream and producing more severe illnesses such as arterial infections (i.e., infected aneurysms), endocarditis and arthritis.
