Death linked to salmonella outbreak

COLUMBUS (AP) — An Ohio woman’s death is the latest linked to the nationwide salmonella outbreak, pushing the U.S. death toll to nine, state health officials said Wednesday.

The latest death involved an elderly woman from Medina County, south of Cleveland, who died earlier this year.

Kristopher Weiss, a spokesman for the Ohio Department of Health, said he could not release any other details on the woman’s death, citing federal reporting rules.

The woman had the same strain of salmonella associated with the national outbreak, though it was unclear if the contamination was directly linked to peanut butter.

A peanut plant in Georgia is accused of shipping salmonella-tainted goods.

Ohio is reporting 92 cases linked to the salmonella outbreak, the most in the U.S.

The outbreak has sickened some 600 people and has resulted in one of the largest product recalls of more than 1,900 items.

The illnesses in Ohio involve people as young as 2 months and as old as 98.

A previous Ohio death linked to the outbreak involved an elderly woman from Summit County, which includes Akron.

In Washington, the owner of Peanut Corp. of America refused to testify to Congress on Wednesday amid the disclosure that he urged his workers to ship bacteria-tainted products.

Stewart Parnell repeatedly invoked his right not to incriminate himself before the House subcommittee holding a hearing on the salmonella outbreak blamed on his company.

Parnell sat stiffly, his hands folded in his lap at the witness table, as Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., held up a clear jar of his company’s products wrapped in crime scene tape and asked him if he would be willing to eat the food.

“Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, on advice of my counsel, I respectively decline to answer your questions based on the protections afforded me under the U.S. Constitution,” Parnell said.

After repeating the statement several times, he was dismissed from the hearing.

Shortly afterward, a lab tester testified that the company discovered salmonella at its Georgia plant as far back as 2006.

The House panel released e-mails obtained by its investigators showing Parnell ordered products identified with salmonella shipped and quoting his complaints that tests discovering the contaminated food were “costing us huge $$$$$$.”

Ohio health officials urged residents to check the agency’s Web site for a list of recalled products linked to the outbreak, and to take common sense precautions such as cooking all meat thoroughly.

Weiss said anyone with doubts about a product at home should throw the item out.