Turtles in the 1960s and 1970s were inexpensive, popular, and low maintenance pets, with an array of groovy pre-molded plastic housing designs to choose from. Invariably they would escape, only to be found days later behind the couch along with the skeleton of the class bunny my younger sister brought home from kindergarten one weekend.

Maybe I got sick from my turtle.

Maybe I picked up my turtle, rolled around on the carpet with it, pet it a bit, and then stuck my finger in my mouth. Maybe in my emotionally vacant adolescence I kissed my turtle. Who can remember?

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control reports there are now 124 confirmed cases of people, primarily kids, infected with outbreak strains of five different Salmonella outbreak strains in 27 states.

There’s a country-wide love for turtles in 2012, even though the U.S. Food and Drug Administration banned the sale and distribution of turtles less than 4 inches in size as pets since 1975.

Two new multistate outbreaks linked to small turtles have been identified since the prior update on April 5, 2012. Overall, 5 multistate outbreaks of human Salmonella infection are linked with exposure to small turtles. Results of the epidemiologic and environmental investigations indicate exposure to turtles or their environments (e.g., water from a turtle habitat) is the cause of these outbreaks.

• A total of 124 persons infected with outbreak strains of Salmonella Sandiego ( and B), Salmonella Pomona (A and B), and Salmonella Poona have been reported from 27 states.

• Small turtles (shell length less than 4 inches) were reported by 92% of cases.

• Forty-three percent of ill persons with small turtles reported purchasing the turtles from street vendors.

• 19 ill persons have been hospitalized, and no deaths have been reported.

• 67% of ill persons are children 10 years of age or younger.

• Small turtles (shell length less than 4 inches) were reported by 93% of cases with turtle exposure. Forty-three percent of ill persons with small turtles reported purchasing the turtles from street vendors.

The number of ill persons identified in each state is as follows: Alaska (2), Alabama (1), Arizona (3), California (21), Colorado (5), Delaware (3), Georgia (3), Illinois (1), Indiana (1), Kentucky (1), Massachusetts (3), Maryland (6), Michigan (2), Minnesota (1), Nevada (4), New Jersey (7), New Mexico (3), New York (24), North Carolina (1), Ohio (2), Oregon (1), Pennsylvania (9), South Carolina (3), Texas (12), Virginia (3), Vermont (1), and West Virginia (1).

The complete update is available at http://www.cdc.gov/salmonella/small-turtles-03-12/index.html.

Local health types say the Toast Café in Dilworth, North Carolina, was responsible for giving at least 15 people salmonella. In all, 29 people reported being sick after dining there in late March, 2012.

Drew Falkenstein, described by WBTV as a food contamination attorney, is representing a 29-year-old Charlotte man who he said got sick after eating eggs benedict prepared by the restaurant on March 25.

Lynn Lathan, with the Mecklenburg County Department of Health, said the restaurant was doing some things that could point to an infection.

"They were making up hollandaise sauce without using a pasteurized egg. A pasteurized egg is one that has been treated so it is no longer potentially hazardous.

Once the sauce was mixed, it was allowed to sit at room temperature. We did not have proper refrigeration. We had pooling of eggs going on," Lathan said.

Robert Maynard, the managing partner of Toast Café, said in a statement: "After working alongside the health department investigating this unfortunate incident thoroughly, Toast Café is in complete compliance with the health department with a 96 percent score. Our patrons, and their health, safety and satisfaction are our top priorities."

A table of raw-egg related outbreaks in Australia, just Australia, is available at http://bites.ksu.edu/raw-egg-related-outbreaks-australia.

President Obama says he ate dog food as a kid, and there have been lots of outbreaks of Salmonella in pet food making humans ill, either through cross-contamination or direct consumption.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control reports 14 individuals have been infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Infantis linked to dog food.

Among the 9 patients with available information, 5 (56%) were hospitalized. No deaths have been reported.

Multiple brands of dry pet food produced by Diamond Pet Foods at a single manufacturing facility in South Carolina have been linked to some of the human Salmonella infections.

On April 2, 2012, the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development detected Salmonella in an unopened bag of Diamond Naturals Lamb Meal & Rice dry dog food, which had been collected March 14, 2012, during routine retail testing of dry pet food. Public health investigators used PulseNet to identify recent cases of human illness with a PFGE pattern indistinguishable from Salmonella Infantis which was isolated from the unopened bag of dry dog food produced by Diamond Pet Foods. In interviews, ill persons answered questions about contact with animals and foods consumed during the week before becoming ill. Seven of 10 (70%) ill persons interviewed reported contact with a dog in the week before becoming ill. Of 5 ill persons who could recall the type of dog food with which they had contact, 4 (80%) identified dry dog food produced by Diamond Pet Foods that may have been produced at a single facility in South Carolina.

As part of this outbreak investigation, Ohio public health and agriculture officials collected and tested dry dog food produced by Diamond Pet Foods. The outbreak strain of Salmonella Infantis was isolated from an opened bag of Diamond Brand Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul Adult Light Formula dry dog food collected from the home of an ill person, and an unopened bag of the product collected from a retail store. A sample of Diamond Puppy Formula dry dog food collected by FDA during an inspection at the South Carolina production facility has also yielded Salmonella.

Randy Phebus and I talked about contaminated pet food and the risks to pets and humans in Sept. 2008. 

There are now 37 people confirmed sick with Salmonella Paratyphi B linked to tempeh. Buncombe County Health Department in North Carolina has outlined three paths for infection: folks who have eaten tempeh (from Smiling Hara); others who have connections to someone ill with Salmonella Paratyphi b (person-to-person); and, a third group that is under further investigation to determine if there are other sources of contamination.
 
According to the update (and big props to the Buncombe Co health folks for releasing daily updates):
 
Confirmatory lab results are expected later this week that should confirm whether the tempeh is a match to the type of Salmonella associated with the current outbreak. At this time we cannot assure people that if they stay away from the tempeh that they won’t get sick. Health officials appreciate the precautionary measures taken by Smiling Hara, who recalled their tempeh product while awaiting confirmation that the tempeh is directly linked to this outbreak.
 
On the Smiling Hara Tempeh website, the product is marketed as a raw food and unpasteurized:
 
ONCE SMILING HARA TEMPEH IS THAWED YOU HAVE 5 DAYS TO COOK IT (for Listeria concerns? -ben).  For best taste and highest nutrtional value do not re-freeze. Our Tempeh is a raw food and is intended to be cooked.  In the heating process some of the probiotics and digestive enzymes will die, however, some will be retained and the mushroom qualities remain in full.  After eating our product regularly you will notice the cleansing effect it will have on your body, and how good you will feel after a “happy belly” meal including Smiling Hara Tempeh, vegetables, and grains.
 
It's unclear from the available information whether illnesses have been linked to consuming this product at restaurants or in the home (or both). And it’s really unclear what folks were doing with this product once in the kitchen: did they know it was raw? Did they know there was any potential risk? Was the product labeled and did anyone follow the label directions?
 
Cross-contamination also could be a factor here - it's likely that folks in the kitchen treat this stuff more like leeks and potatoes than raw chicken. Inadequately cleaned leeks and potatoes were thought to be responsible for an E. coli O157:H7 outbreak in the UK that sickened 250 people over months.