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Transmission
According to the Centre for Disease Control investigative report, the likely source of this outbreak was through chicken salad that was produced by Triple T Specialty Meats, Inc. produced from January 2, 2018, to February 7, 2018 (Centre for Disease Control, 2018). This specific product was sold in various weights at Fairway grocery stores in Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska and South Dakota and were subsequently recalled by Triple T Specialty Meats Inc. on February 21, 2018, due to the possible Salmonella contamination as at the time, the source had not been confirmed (United States Department of Agriculture, 2018).

During the investigation, public health officials in Iowa interviewed 222 people and 197 of those reported eating a chicken salad from Fareway grocery stores. Iowa Investigators then collected samples for laboratory testing from Fareway grocery stores and the outbreak strain of Salmonella Typhimurium was identified in both samples (United States Department of Agriculture, 2018).

Signs and Symptoms
Salmonella is a bacterium that produces the symptoms of diarrhoea, fever and abdominal cramps in infected individuals 12-72 hours after exposure. Most people recover without treatment and the illness usually lasts for 4-7 days (Centre for Disease Control, 2018).

Some people may need hospitalization due to severe symptoms and in rare cases, Salmonella can cause death unless the person is treated with antibiotics promptly. Those most likely to develop severe salmonella are children under the age of 5, adults over the age of 65 and people with compromised immune systems (Centre for Disease Control, 2018).

CDC Investigation
On February 22, 2018 the Centre for Disease Control released their first statement about a collaborative investigation into a multistate outbreak of Salmonella Typhimurium with public health officials and regulatory officials in several states (Centre for Disease Control, 2018). As of February 21, 2018, 65 people were infected with the outbreak strain in 5 states. They used epidemiological and laboratory evidence to trace the source of the outbreak and this resulted in a recall (United States Department of Agriculture, 2018).

On March 7, 2018 the Centre for Disease Control announced a case count update of 105 more infected people in 6 states and they anticipated a delay in case number updates due to the 2-4 week window of initial infection to case reporting, their last announcement showed that as of April 6, 2018, the outbreak was over (Centre for Disease Control, 2018).

Lawsuits
Litigation in Iowa were set between the victims and Fareway grocery stores and Triple T Specialty Meats, Inc. with regards to the Salmonella outbreak and victims filed civil suits in federal court to seek reimbursement for medical costs as well as other costs (Food Safety News, 2018). The 50 lawsuits against Faraway and Triple T Specialty Meats were subsequently settled (Marler Clark, 2020).