The bacterium is found in chicken, turkeys, cattle and pigs. Dr. Laurence Slutsker, a medical epidemiologist with the CDC, said that there are no reports of deaths from the illness. The cases started in early April, and Illinois received reports of four new illnesses Thursday, Langkop said. Investigation centered in Illinois Like other salmonella infections, agona usually causes a weeklong Researchers at the illness. Symptoms include CDC work to identify vomiting, fever, diarrhea, and abdominal cramps.
Infections can be fatal among infants, the elderly and people with compromised immune systems.
The investigation is centered in Illinois, where there are more cases than any other state. Cases also have been recorded in Ohio, Indiana, Missouri, Michigan, New York and Pennsylvania. The CDC is now launching a new system that can track such outbreaks in the future. The system lets epidemiologists track the DNA fingerprints of individual strains of salmonella. But right now, the CDC does not know what is causing the current outbreak.