Salmonella infection cases increase by 15% this year... A warning to be careful about Chuseok holiday food

This year, the number of salmonella infection cases increased by nearly 15% compared to the same period last year, and the increase has continued recently, so special caution is required when families and relatives gather to share food during the Chuseok holiday.

According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency on the 25th, from the first week to the 37th week of this year (September 6 to 12), a total of 3,417 patients with salmonella infection were reported to 210 hospital-level or higher intestinal infection surveillance agencies nationwide.

This is a 14.8% increase from the same period last year (2,977 people).

The total number of patients with intestinal infections decreased to 755 in the most recent week 37, compared to the previous week (788), but the number of patients with salmonella infections, which accounts for about half of bacterial intestinal infections, increased from 223 to 231 during the same period, recording triple digits every week since mid-July.

Salmonella infection is a water-borne and food-borne infection that occurs when water, eggs, milk, meat, or processed products contaminated with salmonella are consumed without sufficient cooking.

Symptoms include abdominal pain, fever, vomiting, and diarrhea, and recovery usually takes 5 to 7 days.

To prevent salmonella infection, you must keep food and ingredients refrigerated, cook eggs with sufficient heat, and wash your hands with soap under running water for at least 30 seconds after touching eggs.

Experts emphasize that since a variety of foods are often cooked and shared by many people during holidays, eggs and meat should be sufficiently heated to the center and cooked, and cooked foods should be consumed immediately or stored at an appropriate temperature if possible.

An official from the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said, “If you have symptoms such as diarrhea or vomiting, it is best to visit a nearby medical institution and receive treatment.” He added, “In particular, if two or more people experience these symptoms after eating the same food, please immediately report it to the public health center.”