The Cascade County City-County Health Department said that as of 4:30 p.m. Nov. 15 that it was still investigating the salmonella outbreak that had hit some Great Falls Public Schools.
CCHD was expecting results of genome sequencing from the state lab today, but as of 5:30 p.m. had not yet received them.
Those results will determine determine whether the Great Falls cases are linked to a multistate outbreak but will not confirm a specific food source.
CCHD is continuing to work with GFPS and have inspected the affected school kitchens and distribution kitchens and spoken with kitchen staff.
More salmonella cases confirmed in GFPS schools; source not yet determined
During the inspections, CCHD sanitarians didn’t observe any factors that would contribute to the spread of salmonella, according to the agencies update to The Electric on Friday.
GFPS is continuing to provide CCHD with a list of students absent since Oct. 28 who have symptoms consistent with salmonella and whether those students ate hot lunch within the incubation period prior to the onset of symptoms.
CCHD is using those lists to expand their investigations to include probably or suspected cases of symptomatic students and staff who have not been tested and to identify any additional schools that may have suspected but unconfirmed cases, CCHD told The Electric on Friday.
Salmonella cases identified in Cascade County, including GFPS students and staff
GFPS also provided detailed menu lists of all foods served at the affected schools and manufacturers of those foods and CCHD is conducting follow-up investigations to determine which specific items were consumed by infected individuals during the salmonella incubation period, according to CCHD.
Parents may receive a text from CCHD with a link to a confidential and HIPPA-compliant electronic form where they can provide these details about the specific food items consumed by their children.
CCHD asks parents who received that text to review the menu lists with their children and submit the form as soon as able. If CCHD doesn’t receive a form, they’ll follow-up with those families by phone to obtain the information.
GFPS and CCHD notified the public on Nov. 12 of six confirmed salmonella cases among students at Sacajawea and Valley View elementary schools, one GFPS employee at a third school and one person in the community not tied to the district.
On Nov. 13, GFPS said that two more cases were identified, these at Meadowlark Great Falls.
GFPS said on Nov. 13 that parents in the schools with confirmed cases are being notified and that the district is continuing to work with CCHD to determine the source of the outbreak.
CCHD is also coordinating with the Montana Department of Health and Human Services, which in turn is coordinating with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.
