The Wyoming Health Department has confirmed a case of salmonella in Big Horn County that doctors believe is linked to peanut butter, said Dr. Tracy Murphy, state epidemiologist. He said the state is continuing to investigate other possible cases across Wyoming.

As of Friday morning, approximately half a dozen people in Casper reported diarrhea symptoms that could be salmonella, said Dr. Marty Thone, spokesman for the Casper-Natrona County Health Department.

Thone stressed the word "could" because tests have not been completed to confirm that these people have salmonella. It is suspected these cases could be related to the national outbreak of salmonella linked to certain brands of peanut butter, Thone said.

"From what we're finding with the cases, yes, there could be a connection," Thone said. "People have eaten peanut butter and are sick."

Mike Phillips, spokesman for the Wyoming Medical Center, said the emergency room has tested one patient with gastrointestinal symptoms for salmonella, but the test came back negative.

He said there is a gastroenteritis virus going around that has the same symptoms of diarrhea and abdominal cramps as salmonella.

"Unless we get a positive (result) back, it doesn't mean much," Phillips said. "The patient could have just had bad chicken last night."

The state health department believes the one confirmed case of salmonella in Wyoming is most likely from contaminated peanut butter, because it is the same strain found in other cases of the national salmonella outbreak. Murphy said it is also a rarer strain of the bacteria.

Murphy said the department is in the process of trying to contact the patient with salmonella to find out if the person has eaten the contaminated product recently or if there are other risk factors in the person's life that could have given the person salmonella.

An investigation done by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the states and local health agencies links almost 300 cases of salmonella to consumption of varying types of peanut butter, according to a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) press release.

The first consumer may have become ill in August of 2006, the press release said. The FDA is urging consumers to throw away any jar of Peter Pan or Great Value brand peanut butter with a product code that starts "2111."

The product code refers to where the peanut butter was made. In this case, Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butters (marketed and sold by Wal-Mart stores) are produced by ConAgra foods at a facility in Georgia.

Ida Lien, a Casper resident, said she found the numbers 2111 on the lid of an almost-empty jar of Peter Pan peanut butter she bought at Big Lots.

"I wanted to get rid of the peanut butter since it was almost gone," Lien said. "I was going to make peanut butter cookies."

She said her daughter and grandson ate most of the peanut butter and have not gotten sick. Lien threw the jar out as soon as she discovered it was recalled.

Reach Allison Rupp at (307) 266-0534 or at allison.rupp@casperstartribune.net.