Salmonella outbreak sickens nearly 300 in US

WASHINGTON -Asalmonella outbreak in raw chicken has sickened nearly 300 people in the United States, officials said as consumer advocates warned the federal shutdown was hampering a government response.

The 278 illnesses in 18 states were believed to be linked to raw chicken from three Foster Farms locations in California, according to the Food Safety and Inspection Service.

"The outbreak is still ongoing, and therefore our investigation is still ongoing," an FSIS spokesman told AFP, noting that 135 inspectors were on duty responding to the outbreak despite the government shutdown.

"The only folks that were furloughed were back at our headquarters."

The shutdown, which began October 1, has sent hundreds of thousands of federal workers home without pay, including staff at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Department of Agriculture and Food and Drug Administration.

It is the first shutdown in 17 years and was driven by a resurgence of Republican opposition to President Barack Obama's health care reform law passed in 2010.

A CDC spokeswoman said that six employees had been recalled to staff a network of public health labs that monitor for food- borne outbreaks, bringing the total number of employees on that project to seven.

"The shutdown has really handcuffed these regulatory agencies and their proper regulatory role," said Democratic Congresswoman Louise Slaughter's spokesman Eric Walker.