The Food and Drug Administration is investigating whether recently recalled cucumbers are responsible for a nationwide salmonella outbreak, which health officials say has resulted in dozens of hospitalizations across half of states.
The agency said affected cucumbers may be responsible for dozens of hospitalizations.
The FDA and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday they had received reports of 162 people infected with salmonella in 25 states and the District of Columbia, including 54 people who were hospitalized, though no fatalities have been reported so far.
Of the 65 sickened people interviewed by the FDA, 47 reported eating cucumbers, the agency said.
The FDA and CDC are also investigating another outbreak for another strain of salmonella, with 158 reported illnesses in 23 states, which both agencies said share similarities in where and when the illnesses occurred and the demographics of affected people.
An investigation will determine whether the cases are linked and whether they are caused by cucumbers previously sold by Fresh Start Produce, which recalled cucumbers in 14 states after a sample tested positive for salmonella in Florida, though the FDA said sellers may have shipped affected cucumbers to more states.
The grower that likely supplied the cucumbers is no longer growing and harvesting for the season, the FDA said.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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