BILLINGS - Some people in Yellowstone County are infected with Salmonella; the same strain that is making people sick in states as far away as Texas and Pennsylvania. Now, the Yellowstone County Health Department is trying to figure out how they are connected.
A communicable disease specialist at the health department said they are conducting interviews with the people infected here, and other states are doing the same with their cases.
The information will then be sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention where experts will pinpoint the source of contamination. "The CDC will run it through an EPI program, and it's like a sorting program that goes through all the interviews and sorts through what item it could be," said Tamalee Taylor, communicable disease specialist at Yellowstone County Health Department.
Under-cooked eggs and chicken are two main causes of Salmonella. Salmonella causes intense gastro-intestinal cramping.