Here's some scary news to digest(no pun intended). According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, at least 127 people have been infected amid an outbreak of Salmonella across 25 states since early August. Eighteen people have been hospitalized.

The Boston Globe reports between August 3 and September 15, according to the CDC, 127 people have been infected with Salmonella. That includes 7 people in Massachusetts. Even more troubling, the source of the outbreak has not been identified yet, although the CDC is investigating.

While the majority of the illnesses were reported in Texas, many were also reported in the Northeast. Out of the 127 cases, 45 of them were in Texas alone. The only other New England state outside of Massachusetts to report any cases was Connecticut which has reported 3 cases so far.

Some of the other states being hit by the Salmonella outbreak include New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, and Virginia. Keep in mind that some recent cases may not have made the data yet. The CDC says it can take approximately 3 to 4 weeks to determine if someone is part of an outbreak.

As part of a media statement regarding the outbreak, the CDC said:

Several groups of people (‘subclusters’) at restaurants in multiple states have been identified. These subclusters are groups of people who do not know one another who ate at the same restaurant and got sick. Investigating these subclusters can sometimes help identify a food item eaten by all of the sick people that could be the source of the outbreak.

Some of the symptoms of Salmonella include fever, diarrhea, and stomach cramps between six hours and six days after ingesting the bacteria. Recovery time is usually between 4 to 7 days. The CDC urges anyone who believes they may be infected to contact their healthcare provider.

It's also a good idea to try and remember anything you had to eat the week prior to getting sick. For more on the story, check out the Boston Globe's website here.

Here are some tips for self-care during the pandemic:

KEEP READING: See 25 natural ways to boost your immune system

LOOK: Here Are 30 Foods That Are Poisonous to Dogs

To prepare yourself for a potential incident, always keep your vet's phone number handy, along with an after-hours clinic you can call in an emergency. The ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center also has a hotline you can call at (888) 426-4435 for advice.

Even with all of these resources, however, the best cure for food poisoning is preventing it in the first place. To give you an idea of what human foods can be dangerous, Stacker has put together a slideshow of 30 common foods to avoid. Take a look to see if there are any that surprise you.

READ ON: See the States Where People Live the Longest

Stacker used data from the 2020 County Health Rankings to rank every state's average life expectancy from lowest to highest. The 2020 County Health Rankings values were calculated using mortality counts from the 2016-2018 National Center for Health Statistics. The U.S. Census 2019 American Community Survey and America's Health Rankings Senior Report 2019 data were also used to provide demographics on the senior population of each state and the state's rank on senior health care, respectively.

Read on to learn the average life expectancy in each state.

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