TL;DR
Get kitchen staples and gadgets delivered free — and shop member deals
- Fast, free delivery on millions of items
- Access to Prime Big Deal Days deals on October 6–7
- Prime Video, Amazon Music and more included
The CDC has declared over the 2026 Salmonella outbreak traced to backyard poultry, which sickened 1,253 people across 46 states and Puerto Rico, hospitalized 256, and killed two. It was the second-largest backyard-flock outbreak the agency has recorded. Investigators linked outbreak strains to eight unnamed hatcheries.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has declared an end to this year’s multistate Salmonella outbreak traced to backyard poultry flocks, closing an investigation that recorded 1,253 infections across 46 states and Puerto Rico, including 256 hospitalizations and two deaths, according to a report by Food Safety News.
The outbreak involved multiple strains of Salmonella — Altona, Enteritidis, Indiana, Infantis, Kedougou, Mbandaka, and Saintpaul — according to the CDC. Patients ranged in age from less than 1 year to 99 years, with a median age of 36. One in five patients were children younger than 5, and roughly a third of those with available information required hospitalization.
Most sick people or their caregivers told investigators that the chicks and ducklings in their flocks came from agricultural retail stores, while others purchased birds from acquaintances, directly from hatcheries, or from local farms. Investigators in Idaho, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Oregon, and Tennessee collected samples from backyard poultry and from the inside of shipping boxes used to move live birds from hatcheries to stores. Whole genome sequencing showed that Salmonella Enteritidis, Mbandaka, Kedougou, and Saintpaul in those samples matched the strains found in sick people.
The CDC identified eight hatcheries as having sold infected birds but has not publicly named them. Antibiotic resistance testing of 1,253 human isolates found 670 resistant to fosfomycin, 184 to nalidixic acid, 152 to tetracycline, 53 to streptomycin, 40 to gentamicin, and 24 to sulfisoxazole, with smaller numbers resistant to other antibiotics; another 185 isolates were predicted to be nonsusceptible to ciprofloxacin.
A Recurring Danger in Backyard Flocks
The outbreak was the second largest backyard-poultry Salmonella outbreak the CDC has recorded, surpassed only by 2020, when pandemic stay-at-home conditions drove a surge in home flocks as entertainment. The case count underscores that live poultry carries real infection risk even when birds appear healthy and clean.
The heavy toll on young children — one in five patients were under 5 — highlights how easily Salmonella spreads through handling chicks and ducklings or the surfaces they contact. The CDC’s standard guidance applies year-round: wash hands thoroughly with soap and water after touching backyard poultry or anything in their environment, don’t let young children handle birds unsupervised, and keep poultry and related equipment outdoors and away from food-preparation areas.
The detection of antibiotic-resistant strains adds concern, because resistant infections can be harder to treat. The CDC has not named the eight implicated hatcheries, leaving consumers without specific sourcing information.
Top picks for "declar salmonella outbreak"
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
Eight Years of Outbreaks, One Pattern
The CDC first reported the outbreak on April 13, when only 34 patients in 13 states were counted, 13 of them hospitalized, with illnesses beginning February 26. The case count grew nearly fortyfold between that initial announcement and the final tally.
Backyard-poultry Salmonella outbreaks have become an annual event. According to CDC figures cited by Food Safety News, the yearly tolls from 2019 through 2026 were: 1,134 sick (2019), 1,722 sick (2020), 1,135 (2021), 1,230 (2022), 1,072 (2023), 470 (2024), 559 (2025), and 1,253 this year. Across those eight years, the outbreaks totaled 8,575 illnesses, 1,803 hospitalizations, and 12 deaths.
The CDC also cautioned that the official count understates the true scale: because many sick people never seek medical care or are not specifically tested for Salmonella, the agency estimates that for every confirmed patient, roughly 29 cases go undetected.
“This is because some sick people don’t seek medical attention and others are not specifically tested for Salmonella.”
— CDC, as reported by Food Safety News
Questions the CDC Left Open
The CDC did not name the eight hatcheries identified as having sold infected birds, so it is not publicly known which suppliers were implicated or whether any face regulatory consequences. The agency also has not detailed what, if any, corrective actions the hatcheries or retail stores were required to take.
The true number of infections remains unknown; the confirmed 1,253 cases likely represent only a fraction of illnesses, given the CDC’s estimate of 29 undetected cases per confirmed patient. The circumstances of the two deaths have not been publicly described.
Flock Season Ahead and Ongoing Risk
With this outbreak declared over, no further CDC outbreak updates are expected for the 2026 investigation. However, given that backyard-poultry outbreaks have occurred every year since at least 2019, health officials are likely to renew warnings ahead of the spring chick-selling season, when most new birds are purchased and most illnesses historically begin.
Public health agencies are expected to continue encouraging hatcheries and agricultural retailers to provide Salmonella-prevention information at the point of sale, and to remind flock owners of safe-handling practices: handwashing after contact, keeping birds outside, supervising children around poultry, and avoiding kissing or snuggling birds. Whether the CDC will change its approach to naming implicated hatcheries in future outbreaks remains to be seen.
Key Questions
Is the backyard poultry Salmonella outbreak over?
Yes. The CDC has declared the 2026 outbreak over, with a final count of 1,253 illnesses in 46 states and Puerto Rico, 256 hospitalizations, and two deaths. However, backyard poultry can still carry Salmonella at any time, so safe-handling practices remain necessary.
Which Salmonella strains were involved?
The outbreak involved seven strains: Salmonella Altona, Enteritidis, Indiana, Infantis, Kedougou, Mbandaka, and Saintpaul. Laboratory testing confirmed that some strains in poultry and shipping boxes matched those in sick people.
Were the hatcheries that sold infected birds named?
No. The CDC identified eight hatcheries as having sold infected birds but did not publicly name them.
How can I avoid Salmonella from backyard chickens and ducks?
Wash hands with soap and water after touching birds or their environment, keep poultry supplies outside the home, don’t allow children under 5 to handle birds unsupervised, and never eat or drink in areas where birds roam. Birds can carry Salmonella while appearing healthy.
Were more people sickened than the official count shows?
Almost certainly. The CDC estimates that for every confirmed Salmonella patient, about 29 infections go undetected because many people do not seek care or are not specifically tested.
Source: rss
NFL season / tailgating Picks
team gear
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
