American Notes Health

It is the all-American beverage. But in Illinois and four other Midwestern states, an outbreak of Salmonella poisoning is causing Americans to approach milk with some trepidation. Since March 24, nearly 4,000 cases of the nasty gastrointestinal illness have been traced to milk sold by Jewel Food Stores. The still increasing numbers make this one of the worst Salmonella episodes in U.S. history. Three deaths have so far been linked to the disease, and 22 lawsuits have been filed against Jewel, which also owns the plant where the milk was processed.

The bacterium involved in the current outbreak appears to be resistant to antibiotics. Because it can remain dormant and is also contagious, health experts fear that as many as 10,000 people could eventually contract the infection, which causes vomiting, diarrhea and fever. While the search goes on for the exact source of the bug, Jewel has shut its suspect dairy and removed all its dairy products from its 217 outlets. Workers at several Chicago-area stores poured thousands of gallons of milk down storm sewers, creating concern that this might allow the bacteria to spread. Jewel cleaned up the potential contamination at a cost of $100,000.