As of Dec. 3, no new salmonella cases have been identified in Cascade County and none of the tested food samples were positive for salmonella, according to the Cascade City-County Health Department.

Some of the Great Falls cases were linked to a national salmonella outbreak and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control have identified cucumber as the “most likely culprit,” according to CCHD.

Three companies have issued recalls of American/slicer cucumbers grown by Agrotato, S.A. de C.V. in Sonora, Mexico that have been tied to the outbreak.

As of Nov. 26, a total of 68 people infected with the outbreak strain of salmonella were reported from 19 states, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Three Cascade County salmonella cases linked to national outbreak

Of the 50 people for whom information is available, 18 were hospitalized. No deaths have been reported. Of the 33 people interviewed, 27, or 82 percent, reported eating cucumbers, according to the FDA.

The FDA lists 16 confirmed cases in Montana, the highest concentration of any other state.

Of those, 11 were in Cascade County and of those, eight were students and one is an employee at Great Falls Public Schools at five different schools.

Two other cases were unrelated to GFPS.

The first recall notice, from SunFed Produce didn’t identify Montana has having received the specific cucumbers tied to the outbreak and CCHD said on Dec. 2 that the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services had contacted the FDA for clarification or correction.

Two subsequent recall notices, from a produce distributor and a wholesaler, did identify Montana has having received the cucumbers linked to the outbreak.

CCHD told The Electric on Dec. 3 that it can confirm at least some of the cucumbers pulled from Great Falls Public Schools came from one of the recalling distributors.

CCHD and GFPS told The Electric that GFPS has resumed serving fresh produce in schools but for the time being, no cucumbers are being ordered or served.

CCHD, GFPS continuing to investigate salmonella outbreak; source undetermined

On Nov. 19, Abigail Hill, county health officer, said three Cascade County salmonella cases had been linked to the national outbreak.

She said the Montana Public Health and Human Services lab confirmed those links through genome testing and that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration have been notified.

Ben Spencer, CCHD spokesman, told The Electric on Nov. 20 that in addition to those three test results, the state lab had three samples pending testing.

Samples of produce from Sacajawea, Valley View, Meadowlark and Lincoln elementaries were sent to the state lab on Nov. 20.

More salmonella cases confirmed in GFPS schools; source not yet determined

Spencer said the state requested tomatoes, cucumbers, apples, shredded lettuce, and fresh and frozen strawberries.

CCHD told The Electric in late November that there hadn’t been any confirmed salmonella cases with a symptom onset date after GFPS pulled produce from menus immediately after the first cases were confirmed.

Hill said that it’s often hard to pinpoint the source with a single case, but with multiple cases, they can start to see trends and commonalities.

Hill told City Commissioners during their Nov. 19 meeting that while it was challenging for her staff to investigate the Cascade County cases, they’ve collected a lot of data on what those people ate and sourcing for GFPS foods to help the national investigation into the source of the outbreak.

In mid-November, CCHD said it was working with GFPS and have inspected the affected school kitchens and distribution kitchens and spoken with kitchen staff.

During the inspections, CCHD sanitarians didn’t observe any factors that would contribute to the spread of salmonella, according to the agency’s update to The Electric on Nov. 15.

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 in November.

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.

In November, CCHD said 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.