KING COUNTY, WA - Public Health - Seattle & King County began investigating an outbreak of Salmonella muenchen last week. As of 3:30 PM PDT today, 39 King County residents have 1 C2 infection. Eighteen of these cases have been typed as salmonella muenchen and tied to this outbreak. Lab results are pending on the other cases. Five additional cases of salmonella muenchen have been reported for residents of other Washington State counties. Other Western states have also identified cases of Salmonella muenchen.

Public Health staff are investigating numerous other case reports, trying to determine a link to this outbreak.

"Our staff have been working around the clock to investigate all of these cases," said Janice Boase, Assistant Chief of Communicable Disease Control for Public Health - Seattle & King County. "The residents of King County should feel safe knowing that Public Health stands ready to respond quickly to outbreaks such as this one."

The source of the salmonella bacteria has been confirmed by DNA fingerprinting to be unpastuerized orange juice, produced by Sun Orchard out of their Tempe, AZ plant. This orange juice is sold under a variety of labels and is often identified as "fresh-squeezed." Distribution appears to have been wide. Last Friday, Sun Orchard issued a formal recall of this product. Consumers having questions about unpastuerized orange juice products may call 1-800-505-8423.

Salmonella is a bacteria that causes infection of the intestines. Symptoms usually develop 6-72 hours after the bacteria are swallowed. Symptoms may include diarrhea, cramps, headache, fever, vomiting, and dehydration. These may disappear without treatment in 2-5 days.

Persons who believe that they drank unpastuerized orange juice and develop the symptoms of salmonella should consult their health care provider for diagnosis and care. Treatment for salmonella infections consists of rest and drinking plenty of fluids to prevent dehydration.

Tips for identifying unpasteurized and pasteurized orange juice

There is a higher risk of food borne illness with any kind of unpasteurized juice. Pasteurizing juice means heating it hot enough and long enough to kill bacteria. You can tell whether the juice you buy in the store is pasteurized by the following: The juice is unrefrigerated on the shelf in a commercially sealed bottle or can. Frozen juice concentrate has been adequately heat treated, even if the label does not say so. The product is labeled as pasteurized.

NOTE: If the product is refrigerated, it may or may not be pasteurized. The only way to tell for sure if a refrigerated juice product is pasteurized is if it specifically says "pasteurized" on the label.