December 27, 2012

Under a very high magnification of 12000X, this undated colorized scanning electron micrograph shows a large grouping of Gram-negative Salmonella bacteria. (REUTERS/Janice Haney Carr/CDC/Handout/Files)

CALGARY - Preparing holiday feasts might have unleashed an outbreak of salmonella in southern Alberta, an Alberta Health Services physician said Thursday.

Across a wide swath of Alberta's south, including Lethbridge and one First Nation, at least 21 cases of the poisoning have been confirmed, along a multitude of probable ones, said Dr. Vivien Suttorp, medical officer of health for the AHS's south region.

The cases continue to increase, she said.

"We've had quite a few hospitalizations and a lot of others might have had to use emergency departments two, three or four times," said Suttorp.

While investigators haven't been able to pinpoint a single source of the outbreak, she said Christmas dinners are often the culprit.