SPRINGDALE, Ark. — The COVID-19 pandemic is still lingering on, but the CDC is warning about the possible threat of another illness on the rise.
In the past few months, there have been reports of Salmonella outbreaks across the country, with less than 10 reported in Arkansas. In August, there were cases linked to shrimp products. This past week, a local case was linked to limes.
The CDC recently reported numbers showing 35 states have confirmed cases for the outbreak strain of salmonella. 31% of the cases reported had to be hospitalized.
Dana Spann thought nothing of it when her 20-month-old Juniper asked to try a piece of lime. Last week that lime changed Juniper’s life.
Spann says her daughter is a wild, energetic toddler who's usually playing and running around. But now, she's in the hospital and has fallen victim to the recent Salmonella outbreak.
“On Monday, this last Monday, we were on day three of a fever," Spann said. "My daughter she’s 20 months old, she had a fever, diarrhea, pretty lethargic kind of standard stuff we just assumed it was a virus."
Spann says doctors thought it was just a typical virus too, but a gut feeling told her something else was wrong. That's when she checked Juniper into Arkansas Children's Hospital, where they discovered she was suffering from Salmonella.
“Her blood did come back with Salmonella poisoning," Spann said. "So generally it’s just in your guts, and normally you’re only able to see it in your actual stool samples but they found it in her blood and is cause for concern because it can lead to sepsis.”
According to the CDC, this current Salmonella outbreak isn't necessarily linked to one thing, in particular, rather several factors.
Dr. Naveen Patil with the Arkansas Department of Health (ADH) says this Salmonella outbreak isn’t unique. In fact, he says a Salmonella outbreak happens at least once a year.
“People need to understand is that they always need to wash their hands. You know anytime they put food in the mouth. And also after using the restroom,” said Dr. Patil about the best way to prevent contracting Salmonella.
Juniper is now fighting sepsis caused by the poisoning at Springdale Children’s Hospital. Her mom says she wants to remind parents to trust their gut and advocate for their children.