Thirty-seven Illinois residents are among the more than 600 people across the country who have fallen ill from a salmonella outbreak connected to onions, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Fresh, whole red, white and yellow onions from Chihuahua, Mexico, are subject to a recall alert and were distributed to restaurants and grocery stores across the U.S.
The company last imported the affected onions on Aug. 27, but they can last for up to three months in storage and might still be in homes and businesses, the CDC said.
Illinois had the fourth highest number of cases, with Oklahoma, Texas and Virginia reporting the most. Cases have also been reported in all the six states bordering Illinois: Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri and Wisconsin.
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The CDC recommends you check and see if you have any recalled onions. If you do, or don't know where your onions came from, don't eat them and instead throw them away.
Furthermore, wash surfaces and containers these onions may have touched using hot soapy water or a dishwasher, according to the CDC website.
No deaths have been reported, but a total of 129 people have been hospitalized across 37 states.
Most people infected with salmonella develop symptoms, including diarrhea, fever and stomach cramps, within six hours to six days of being exposed. The majority of people recover without treatment after four to seven days. Children younger than 5, adults 65 or older and those with weakened immune systems may develop more severe reactions.
