Published: September 11th, 2008 04:31 PM
Last Modified: September 11th, 2008 04:32 PM
PALMER - A farm in the Matanuska Valley has been called the focal point of an infectious outbreak that has sickened at least 18 people in Southcentral Alaska after they ate raw peas.
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Mat-Valley Peas in Palmer sells the peas in 5- and 10-pound bags with cooking instructions that would have prevented the outbreak, but some retailers and sellers at farmers markets have repackaged the peas in smaller quantities and left out the cooking instructions, said Joe McLaughlin, state epidemiologist with the health department.
The first of the 18 cases, including one person who was hospitalized, occurred Aug. 1.
Campylobacter can cause diarrhea that is often bloody, abdominal pain, weakness, fever, nausea and vomiting, according to a press release sent out this afternoon from the state's Department of Health and Social Services.
The state has set up a hotline for those who may have eaten the local peas and suffered some or all of the symptoms. The toll-free number is 1-877-469-8067.
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