[Ventura County, CA] On April 9, 2015, the State of California Department of Public Health (CDPH)
notified Ventura County Communicable Disease of a possible Salmonella paratyphi outbreak. As of
today, April 20, 2015, there have been 25 confirmed cases. Eighteen of these cases reside in California. (7
reside in LA County, 4 in Orange County, 2 in Riverside County, 1 in Santa Barbara County, and 4 in
Ventura County) There are 7 out-of-state cases, most of whom had travel to Southern California. Twenty
percent of affected patients have been hospitalized.
At this time, investigation is still ongoing regarding the cause of the outbreak. As of April 17, 10/10
people who completed detailed food questionnaires stated they had consumed sushi, and over 80%
reported having eaten raw tuna. The Ventura County Environmental Health Division will provide
information to CDPH about the source of food products from any Ventura County facilities associated
with this outbreak.
This strain of Salmonella (Paratyphi B var. L(+) tartrate + (Java), pattern JKXX01.1495) had never been
seen in animals or humans before March 2015. CDPH has noted that a closely-related strain was
responsible for a salmonella outbreak in California and Hawaii in 2010. The 2010 outbreak was found to
be linked to raw tuna imported from Indonesia. (For more information, see:
https://idsa.confex.com/idsa/2010/webprogram/Paper3398.html) This strain is genetically different from
the 2010 strain, so it appears the 2 strains are unrelated at this time.
Members of the public who become ill after eating sushi or any other foods can report concerns to
Ventura County Environmental Health at http://www.ventura.org/rma/envhealth/complaint-form.html.
The phone number for Environmental Health is 805-654-2813. If you have nausea, diarrhea (with or
without blood), abdominal cramping and fever, especially if you have recently eaten raw fish, please seek
medical attention and diagnostic testing.