Cherokee County Baby Sickened By Ground Turkey

CHEROKEE COUNTY, Ga.,None — A dangerous strain of salmonella is showing up in ground turkey around the country, killing 1 person and making another 79 people ill.

Georgia health officials confirmed that one of the victims was a baby in Cherokee County. The baby has since recovered.

Illnesses are reported in 26 states, and 22 people were sick enough that they had to go to the hospital. Two new cases were reported as recently as Tuesday.

The USDA has told media outlets that there isn't enough information to issue an official recall yet.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says people should be careful how they prepare ground turkey, making sure it gets to 165 degrees.

Sherry Smith, of Conyers, said she's been serving her family ground turkey a couple of times per week. The last time was ten days ago.

"All I know is I was sick as a dog, and so was my family," Smith told Channel 2's Jim Strickland.

Smith can't be sure it was the turkey, but she said symptoms hit her and family members within hours of eating a ground turkey entree.

"I was having stomach cramps, stomach (bloating), headache, just feeling sick."

Investigators say the first illness from this particular strain of salmonella occurred in March. The baby in Cherokee County got sick in April.

But the public health alert is just now coming out. And that bothers Smith.

"I would hate to have people have to find out the way I did. If I had known, I would not have gotten the ground turkey," she said.

LINK: Public Health Alert For Ground Turkey Products LINK: Human Salmonella Heidelberg Infections

WSBTV