Health Department: Cole County salmonella outbreak may be over

The Cole County Health Department told ABC 17 News that no new cases of salmonella infection have been reported since April 14, meaning no one has presented with initial signs of the infection in the last 12 days.

The investigation by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services and the Jefferson City Environmental Health Division into a possible source of contamination has yielded no positive results.

Based on the Center for Disease Control’s outbreak investigation process, if testing yields no new information and new new cases present in a certain amount of time, officials will decide the outbreak has ended and cease investigating.

According to Cole County Health Director Kristi Campbell, the DHSS has advised the county to wait at least 16 days since the last confirmed onset case before calling off the investigation, placing the cutoff on April 30.

More information on the CDC’s investigation process is available on the center’s website.