CDC Breeds Fear Over Salmonella in Backyard Chickens. Here’s the real risk. By Joe Jarvis - July 24, 2018
The video at top of the CBS article is a three-minute feel-good piece about the joys of keeping chickens, even in more populated areas.
But the article is about a salmonella “outbreak” from backyard chickens affecting–gasp–44 states! 212 people have gotten sick from their backyard chickens since February.
Are Backyard Chickens a Real Health Risk?
The article estimates that about 1% of American households keep chickens. That means 1.26 million households in America keep chickens. The average household has 2.58 people in it. So somewhere around 3.25 million people are exposed to backyard chickens.
That means .006% of people who live in a home with backyard chickens have of caught salmonella. Less than one-tenth of one percent of people who live amongst backyard chickens have been sickened by them this year.
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