Total afflicted by tainted tomatoes could be 8,000

The Centers for Disease Control’s most recent public report on the St. Paul salmonella strain which has infected a major portion of the tomato supply could have infected as many as 8,000 people.

However, the agency said it can only confirm 277 sick people in 28 states, with 43 of those infections being serious enough to warrant hospitalization.

The CDC believes as many as 8,000 could have been infected but many of the cases – as is usual – went unreported or weren’t diagnosed as a salmonella infection.

According to the Seattle Post Intelligencer, for every one case of salmonella reported to the CDC, there are 38 not reported, mainly because the stricken does not get too sick.

The source of the tomato salmonella outbreak still isn’t known but it is believed the tomatoes could have come from Mexico or Florida.