A jalapeño pepper that made a Montezuma County resident ill has been connected with the salmonella outbreak across the country that has affected thousands, Colorado health officials said today.
The contaminated pepper was purchased at a local Wal-Mart, most likely on June 24, and the individual became ill July 4, according to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.
The department’s Laboratory Service Division said in a news release that the pepper “has tested positive with the same DNA pattern of Salmonella Saintpaul — the strain that has caused a large, multi-state outbreak of salmonella.”
The state health department is working with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to determine the origin of the pepper, officials said.
Only jalapeños grown in Mexico seem to be the culprits in the nationwide salmonella outbreak. Health officials warn that jalapeño peppers — and the serrano peppers often confused with them — grown outside the United States should be eaten only if they have been processed or canned, not raw.
Consumers who purchase jalapeño or serrano peppers should ask grocery managers where the peppers are grown, the health department said.
Since April, more than 1,300 people have become ill with a strain of Salmonella Saintpaul having the same genetic fingerprint as the pepper purchased at the Montezuma County Wal-Mart, state health officials said.
Cases have been identified in 43 states, including 16 in Colorado.
Salmonella symptoms typically begin within one to four days after exposure, and the illness can invade the bloodstream, causing life-threatening infections among the young and those with weakened immune systems and underlying health issues.
Consumers should take the following precautions with peppers or other produce:
Health officials stress that cooking vegetables kills bacteria, including salmonella.
Kieran Nicholson: 303-954-1822 or knicholson@denverpost.com
