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Salmonella outbreak sickens 92, including 9 in Mass.

An outbreak of salmonella linked to raw chicken products has sickened 92 people throughout the country, including nine in Massachusetts, according to a federal agency.

Public health officials in several states are probing the outbreak of multi-drug resistant salmonella infections, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The outbreak has hospitalized 21, but no deaths have been reported, the agency said in a statement posted to its website Wednesday.

Ill people are reporting “eating different types and brands of chicken products purchased from many different locations,” according to the CDC.

The outbreak strain, the agency said, has been identified in samples from raw chicken pet food, raw chicken products, and live chickens.

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A common supplier of the tainted raw chicken products or of live chickens has yet to be identified, and federal officials said the outbreak strain is “resistant to multiple antibiotics.”

“The outbreak strain of Salmonella Infantis is present in live chickens and in many types of raw chicken products, indicating it might be widespread in the chicken industry,” read the CDC statement.

As of Monday, the outbreak had sickened people in 29 states, including nine in Massachusetts, two in Rhode Island, and one in Connecticut, according to the CDC.

The illnesses started in January, according to the federal agency, and those who fell ill ranged in age from less than a year to 105.

Most people who are infected with salmonella develop diarrhea, fever, and stomach cramps between a half-day to three days after they are exposed to the bacteria. The illness usually lasts between four days and a week, and most people recover without treatment, the CDC said.


Danny McDonald can be reached at daniel.mcdonald@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @Danny__McDonald.