Who’s tending to the chicken coop?

If you or a family member fall ill from salmonella, the first question is: What food did you eat that made you sick? Typically the next concern is about eating undercooked chicken or eggs, or whether cross-contamination from raw poultry juices happened in the kitchen. Very seldom does anyone ask if you’ve come into contact with backyard chickens.

A new public health report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicates that we need to change this habit of food blaming first — and change it fast. Not only is the recent trend in numbers of urban backyard chicken flocks exhibiting a meteoric rise, but we are simultaneously witnessing a stunning increase in the number of salmonella outbreaks and illnesses from contact with backyard poultry.

Backyard Flocks Trending, Perfect Storm Rising

Baby chicks are undeniably adorable. It seems to be a fun family hobby. You can build your own coop or buy one just about anywhere. It is enticing to have a daily supply of fresh eggs, and most folks think that because they buy newborn chicks and then raise them in their own backyards that the eggs and chickens are somehow safer and better than the store-bought variety.

{mosads}Most hobbyists fail to understand the potential harm they are inviting in the front door with backyard poultry, especially if they treat young chicks like harmless family pets. That is because the mail-order hatchery industry that produces those cute little chicks is almost completely unregulated, leaving consumers vulnerable.

The types of salmonella that make the chicks sick are not the same types that make people sick. There are about 30 different strains of illness-causing salmonella that healthy chicks and hens can transmit to people. They can harbor these nasty bacteria in their feathers, beaks, fecal matter, food, and bedding and readily spread it to any area they touch or in which they roam.

There is scant information and no training provided to urban flock owners on how to become responsible and safe food animal caretakers.

While newbies can find abundant backyard owners’ clubs and websites, these communities provide a lot of advice on chick and hen health but very little information on protecting the health of families and young children when poultry is living nearby.

Considering the projected growth of backyard poultry flocks is high, urban inexperience regarding salmonella control is concerning for anyone living around backyard poultry. A survey in four major cities completed in 2012 predicted a 400 percent increase in flock ownership over the next five years. Right now we are now in the middle of a perfect storm for salmonellosis illness from backyard flocks.

Salmonella Outbreaks due to Backyard Poultry on the Rise

Human illness outbreaks from backyard poultry are rising quickly. An outbreak is defined by two or more illnesses linked to the same source in a defined period of time. The following numbers of salmonella outbreaks from several different salmonella strains are linked to live poultry:

 1990-2009: 32 Outbreaks over 20 years; 2010-2015: 25 Outbreaks over 6 years; 2016: 8 Outbreaks in the first 6 months alone

On July 19, 2016, the CDC confirmed that 611 people from 45 states were infected with salmonella from backyard flocks in 8 separate outbreaks dating from January 4, 2016 to June 25,2016. Twenty eight percent of the ill people required hospitalization, and 32 percent were 5 years of age or younger. The CDC warns to not let children younger than 5 years of age handle or touch chicks, ducklings, or other live poultry without adult supervision.

They also stated that the outbreaks were expected to continue and the numbers to climb for the next several months. According to a recent conversation I had with Dr. Megin Nichols, Veterinarian Epidemiologist at CDC, those numbers have indeed grown and CDC expects to update them again as soon as early September.

Those 611 people tallied as of June 24 are really only the tip of the iceberg for 2016, because for every one person that is culture-confirmed by seeking medical attention, there are a significant number of others who are ill but don’t get counted. This is called the “multiplier effect” and has been well-honed over the years by CDC researchers to more accurately estimate enteric illnesses. For salmonella infections, that multiplier is 29.3, which means that close to 18,000 people were potentially made ill by backyard poultry so far in 2016. This is a significant burden of illness and one that is largely preventable in the future if appropriate actions are taken now. 

The truth is that all poultry, whether packaged from grocery stores or roaming in backyards, can carry disease-causing salmonella. Reasonable new regulations and policies are needed to bring this emerging public health threat under control — changes at the mail-order hatchery, agricultural feed store, and customer/consumer levels. 

However, it’s disconcerting that no public or private agency is at the top of a hierarchy responsible for implementing these changes. In other words, we have surging salmonellosis from backyard flocks, and no singular entity is minding the coop.

Donna Emanuel Rosenbaum has her masters degree in communication and is the CEO and lead consultant for Food Safety Partners, Ltd., a national firm that specializes in consumer-based projects. 

The views expressed by contributors are their own and not the views of The Hill.