NEW YORK (NYTIMES) - A salmonella outbreak linked to contact with wild songbirds and bird feeders has sickened 19 people across eight states, eight of whom have been hospitalised, federal health authorities said.

The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said it was investigating salmonella infections in California, Kentucky, Mississippi, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Oregon, Tennessee and Washington state in people ranging in age from 2 months to 89 years old.