Salmonella cases rise in McHenry County

McHenry County had a “threefold increase” in salmonella cases in June compared with May, the McHenry County Department of Health said recently as health officials advised the public to use caution.

The health department said people can get diseases such as salmonella, campylobacteriosis and cyclosporiasis through consuming or handling contaminated or undercooked food, drinking contaminated water or coming into contact with infected animals or animal waste.

“Symptoms of these infections include diarrhea, which may be bloody, and may include cramps, abdominal pain and sometimes fever within times varying from days to weeks after exposure to the source. Nausea and vomiting may also occur,” according to the release.

Illnesses can last a few days to over a month, and people who believe they have symptoms should contact their health care provider as soon as possible, according to the release.

The health department said residents can take precautions to avoid gastrointestinal illnesses, which can be more common in the summer, according to the release.

Those precautions include:

• Do not drink raw (unpasteurized) milk or untreated water from lakes, rivers or ponds.
• Always practice good hand hygiene, especially when handling puppies or kittens with diarrhea, or backyard chickens.
• Protect young children who often put items and dirty hands into their mouths.
• Wash hands before, during and after preparing food.
• Cook all raw meats to proper temperature.
• Wash fruits and vegetables before eating them.
• Use soap and hot water to wash cutting boards, counters or utensils used to prepare raw poultry, seafood or meat to prevent cross-contamination with other foods.
• If you are symptomatic, avoid handling food or caring for others.
• Keep up to date with food recalls; recent recalls have been issued for items including eggs, whole cucumbers and pistachio ice cream.
• See your health care provider if any symptoms become severe such as diarrhea lasting more than two days, bloody bowel movement, fever higher than 102 degrees Fahrenheit, or signs of dehydration such as dry mouth/extreme thirst, urinating less/dark urine/dry diapers, crying without tears or confusion.

In June, the county reported 10 cases of salmonella, up from three in May, according to provisional data. There was one E. coli case in June, down from two in May. The county had seven cases of campylobacteriosis, up from four in May.

“This is consistent with what we normally see in summer months; campylobacteriosis usually increases in June and July,” said Ryan Sachs, the epidemiology program coordinator at the health department.

May’s updated provisional data reported nine cases of gastrointestinal illnesses in the county, of which three cases were salmonella, four cases of which were campylobacteriosis, and two were E. coli. There was an increase from an earlier total of four cases of gastrointestinal illnesses.

The department’s release comes as beaches in Crystal Lake and Lake in the Hills have seen closures because of high E. coli levels in the water. Main Beach in Crystal Lake was closed for nearly a week into early July, and has at least one closed day since, because of high bacteria levels in the water.