CDC: Backyard Chickens, Ducks, Poultry Linked To Salmonella Outbreak, 27 Hospitalized, One Dead

Have you seen this chick flick before? The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has announced yet another Salmonella outbreak linked to backyard poultry. And this time it’s left at least 219 people sick, 27 hospitalized, and one dead across 38 states so far. If this seems like déjà poo all over again, it is. Just a year ago, on June 26, 2021, I covered for Forbes a similar such outbreak and a CDC warning against kissing or snuggling with your chickens, ducks, or other poultry. That came about a year after my covering for Forbes on May 23, 2020 another similar such outbreak and accompanying warning. And that May 2020 article came about a year after my covering guess what for Forbes on May 18, 2019: a Salmonella outbreak linked to backyard poultry along with a warning to not kiss or snuggle with your chickens, ducks, or other poultry. It seems like CDC has had to have such a poultry recital at least once a year.

This latest outbreak this diarrhea-causing pathogen involves four different Salmonella serotypes: Enteritidis, Hadar, Infantis, and Typhimurium. Reported cases have ranged in age from less than one years old to 89 years old. The median age has been 29 years, with over a quarter (26%) being under 5 years of age. A little over a half (54%) have been female. As I have written many, many more than poo times for Forbes, while Salmonella most often results in a highly unpleasant bout of fever, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain, sometimes it can cause much worse, even life-threatening infections, especially for young children, older adults, or anyone else who may have a weakened immune system. The reported death from this latest outbreak was from Tennessee.

Public health authorities began suspecting poultry after 61 of 87 people interviewed, which comes out to 70%, indicated that they had been in contact with backyard poultry prior to getting sick. In this case, “in contact” meant direct physical contact and not text messaging or trading emojis on WhatsApp. Also, “Of the 87 people interviewed, 61 (70%) reported contact with backyard poultry before getting sick. Of 56 people with information available, 16 reported eating eggs from backyard poultry and 2 reported eating meat from backyard poultry,” according to the CDC.

Folks, it’s time to stop winging it when it comes to sharing your emotions with birds—- meaning chickens, ducks, and other poultry. Sure, watching the movie The Notebook may not be quite the same without a beak right next to your face. But the CDC is probably never going to say, “snuggling and kissing your birds is now A-OK. Go ahead and share as many pecks as you’d like.” Instead, try to use the other four love languages besides physical touch: words of affirmation, quality time, receiving gifts, and acts of service. You could always say things like “If you’re a bird, I’m a bird.” Or “To me, you are perfect. You are a duck.” Or “I came here tonight because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with some poultry, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.”

And thoroughly clean anything that may have touched poultry before moving it anywhere close to your face. This means abstaining from those pillow talk conversation with your chickens and ducks where you share a pillow and all your fears, hopes, and dreams with them. Thoroughly, wash your hands with soap and water as soon as possible after you’ve come into contact with backyard poultry, their eggs, or anything that they may have touched. Make sure that you lather up with soap for at least 20 seconds. You can measure this time by singing past the first chorus of the Divinyls song “I Touch Myself.” If your birds look at you very judgingly when you are singing that song, you can respond with, “come on now. Don’t judge. It’s a natural thing to do.”

It’s best to keep kids younger than 5 years completely away from backyard poultry. Young children are more likely to get sick from germs like Salmonella. That’s because it’s difficult to get children so young to follow precautions. They’re still at the “put everything in the mouths and don’t worry about the consequences” stage of their lives.

You also want to be eggs-tra cautious with eggs. Get rid of any eggs that may have cracks in their shells as such cracks may allow germs to enter. Don’t wash your eggs or bring them into the shower with you as water can draw germs from the surface into the eggs. If there is dirt on the eggs, gently use fine sandpaper, a brush, or a cloth to rub away the dirt. Keep your eggs refrigerated and cook them thoroughly at least to an internal temperature of 160°F before eating them. If the egg yolk and white are not firm or the egg tries to run away from you, it hasn’t been cooked thoroughly enough.

All of this doesn’t mean that you have to completely abandon your feathered friends. You can still keep your backyard hensemble or have your regular chick flick nights. Just remember that birds can carry Salmonella and other bad pathogens even when they look perfectly healthy and take appropriate precautions. The saying “keep your friends close and your enemies closer,” may apply to humans but not to Salmonella.