Backyard poultry, like chicken and ducks, can carry Salmonella germs even if they look healthy and clean. These germs can easily spread to anything in the areas where they live and roam. You can get sick from touching your backyard poultry or anything in their environment and then touching your mouth or food, and swallowing Salmonella germs.

Little children who live or visit farms should not get close to these chickens. Parents should spread the word to other families that have chickens.

The Facts as of now:

Illnesses: 163

Hospitalizations: 34

Deaths: 0

States: 43

Recall: No

Investigation status: Active

Be safe around backyard flocks.

Do not kiss or snuggle backyard poultry, and do not eat or drink around them. This can spread Salmonella germs to your mouth and make you sick.

Keep your backyard flock and supplies you use to care for them (like feed containers and shoes you wear in the coop) outside of the house. You should also clean the supplies outside the house.

Supervise kids around flocks.

Always supervise children around backyard poultry and make sure they wash their hands properly afterward.

Do not let children younger than 5 years touch chicks, ducklings, or other backyard poultry. Young children are more likely to get sick from germs like Salmonella.

Handle eggs safely

Collect eggs often. Eggs that sit in the nest can become dirty or break.

Throw away cracked eggs. Germs on the shell can more easily enter the egg though a cracked shell.

Rub off dirt on eggs with fine sandpaper, a brush, or a cloth. Do not wash them because colder water can pull germs into the egg.

Refrigerate eggs to keep them fresh and slow the growth of germs.

Cook eggs until both the yolk and white are firm and cook egg dishes to an internal temperature of 160 °F to kill all germs.

Call your healthcare provider right away if you have any of these severe symptoms:

Diarrhea and a fever higher than 102 °F

Diarrhea for more than 3 days that is not improving.

Bloody diarrhea

So much vomiting that you cannot keep liquids down.

Signs of dehydration, such as:

Not urinating (peeing) much

Dry mouth and throat

Feeling dizzy when standing up

Source : CDC.gov