The number of confirmed cases of Salmonella Saintpaul rose to 707, the Centers for Disease Control reported Wednesday, including four new patients identified in Washington state.
Little has been released on the victims beyond the fact that three were from Yakima County and the fourth is an Oregon resident who sought treatment on this side of the Columbia River, said Tim Church of the Washington State Health Department.
"It appears that they ate bad tomatoes in May and the diagnosis was confirmed today," said Church.
One had been hospitalized but all four have recovered, he added.
Between April 13 and now, the same genetic fingerprint of Salmonella Saintpaul has been identified in 34 states and the District of Columbia.
"The increase in reported ill persons since the last update is not thought to be due to a large number of new infections," said the CDC alert.
The CDC said the increase is attributed to some states improving surveillance for salmonella in response to this outbreak and because laboratory identification of many previously submitted strains was completed.
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