NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- A West Babylon man is the first Long Island resident to fall ill because of the salmonella-tainted tomatoes.
He is one of the 383 people in 30 states to be infected with the illness, and is among the seven people infected in New York City.
Carol D'Auria reports
Federal officials learned of 106 new cases this week across the country, and the sudden rise is attributed to a backlog in reporting in several states.
Suffolk County Health Department officials say there are only a few details of the 26-year-old West Babylon Man.
He is believed to fall ill after eating a mean that contained uncooked tomatoes in New York City in May, officials said.
The New York City Health Department notified the Suffolk County Health Department about the case, officials said.
Federal officials believe most people were infected with the disease between April 10 and June 5.
New York City health officials said on Wednesday there were six new cases of salmonella linked to the tainted tomatoes, which brings the total for the city to seven.
The new cases are part of a nationwide salmonella outbreak that has been linked to raw tomatoes.
The government's count of people made ill by salmonella-tainted tomatoes has jumped to 383, 106 more than were known earlier this week.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday that most of those people got sick weeks ago but just hadn't been counted yet. Part of the surge is better testing by states, and part is an end to a backlog of test results in laboratories.
Still, the latest known infected person fell ill on June 5. The CDC's food safety expert, Dr. Robert Tauxe, said, ``We do not think the outbreak is over.''
New York officials remind people to avoid certain types of tomatoes while the outbreak continues.
The Food and Drug Administration has advised people to avoid certain plum, Roma, round tomatoes and products containing them.
Some tomato types -- including grape, cherry and on-the-vine tomatoes -- remain safe to eat. Tomatoes grown at home are also safe.
Many area restaurants and food services have stopped serving the potentially tainted tomatoes.
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