There's A Mysterious Massive Salmonella Outbreak In Canada Right Now And Health Canada Isn't At All Reassuring

Canadians Public Health officials are reporting that there is currently a massive salmonella outbreak that has infected people in five different provinces.

The agency is currently investigating the outbreak, which has infected at least 45 people across the country. But, even they don't know what's causing it. 

So far, there have been 45 confirmed cases of salmonella infection in Canada. The majority of cases are being reported in BC, but there have been several in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Quebec as well. The single Quebec case was reported after the individual travelled to BC, and is most likely linked to the area. 

Despite the high number of infections, officials haven't yet been able to nail down what exactly has caused the outbreak. While they are currently exploring the possibility that the infections were caused by cucumbers, they have not confirmed it as the root of the problem. 

This means that there is currently nothing Canadians can do to protect themselves from the outbreak. Since Health Canada isn't sure what's causing it, they haven't issued any food recalls - so there's no way of knowing what to avoid. 

Beyond that, the tips from Health Canada to protect yourself if this outbreak is linked to cucumbers - like properly using washing your vegetables and carefully cleaning your workspace - only lower your risk of infection but don't eliminate it altogether.

Salmonella can infect anyone, but babies, the elderly, and those with weakened immune systems face a greater risk. The symptoms if you do get salmonella are consistent with terrible food poisoning, like diarrhea, vomiting, fever, headache, and chills.  

This is the second major outbreak the Canadian government is currently investigating. Over the summer, another salmonella outbreak was linked to certain frozen chicken products, and mass product recalls were issued.

Source: Government of Canada