High rates of Salmonella contamination ID’d in kratom

(HealthDay)—High rates of Salmonella contamination have been identified in kratom products collected and tested since February 2018, according to a statement published by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention identified an outbreak of illnesses due to Salmonella initially involving 24 people, a high proportion of whom reported recent consumption of kratom, an addictive opioid that is not legally marketed in the United States as a drug or dietary supplement.

Some of the affected patients still had the kratom they had consumed before becoming ill; others provided information on source and brand of kratom ingested. Samples of these products were taken for further testing. A total of 199 cases of salmonellosis in 41 states were linked to kratom consumption as of the end of May 2018; 38 percent of these led to hospitalizations. Of 81 samples of kratom collected for testing, 42 (52 percent) were contaminated with Salmonella, indicating that a high proportion of kratom being shipped into the United States may be contaminated.

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