Salmonella food poisoning tied to ground beef produced in Michigan has left 16 people sick in five states across the U.S., according to officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The CDC says that seven of the 16 people who were sickened reported eating kibbeh, a Middle Eastern dish made with Bulgar wheat, ground lamb or beef in this case, and spices, at the same restaurant before becoming ill back in December. There are traditionally both raw and cooked versions.
The CDC said the cases have been linked to last week's recall of more than 1,000 pounds of ground beef from two Michigan businesses, Troy-based Gab Halal Foods and Sterling Heights-based Jouni Meats.
No one has died from the Salmonella food poisoning, but more than half of those sickened were hospitalized. Nine of the illnesses have been in Michigan, but a few cases were scattered in Arizona, Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin.
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. The symptoms usually last four to seven days.
About 42,000 salmonella related sicknesses occur in the United States each year.
