Salmonella outbreak linked to eggs sickens 95 people, CDC says
Health officials are investigating a salmonella epidemic linked to eggs that overthrew 95 people in the United States, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Thursday.
On Wednesday, Country Eggs LLC, based in California, expressed the recall of its large brown eggs without a cage of sun yellow. The eggs were also sold under the Nagatoshi Produce, Misuho and Nijiya brands, according to the Food and Drug Administration. They were also packed for food services in the form of large “brown yellow” or “omega-3 golden yellow”.
The eggs were delivered in grocery stores and food distributors in California and Nevada from June 16 to July 9, the FDA said. All have sales dates from July 1 to September 16 and have the code “CA-7695” on the box.
California reported the majority of cases, 73 diseases have also been reported in 12 other states: Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Hawai, Iowa, Minnesota, North Carolina, Nebraska, Nevada, New York, Pennsylvania and Washington.
Eighteen people were hospitalized and there were no deaths, said the CDC.
The CDC has seen an increase in diseases related to the epidemic in mid-June in mid-July, although cases were detected dating from January. Recent cases cannot yet be reported, said the agency, as it takes three to four weeks to determine if an illness is linked to an epidemic.
The real number of cases is probably much higher, added the CDC, as many people recover without treatment and are not tested for salmonella. It is estimated that only 1 case of 30 in 30 salmonella is diagnosed, indicates the CDC.
Salmonella infection causes diarrhea, fever and stomach cramps, usually starting within six hours to six days after eating contaminated foods. Most people recover in four to seven days.
The CDC warns that children under the age of 5, adults aged 65 and over and people with weakened immune systems can have more serious illnesses that require treatment.
In the United States, there are approximately 1.35 million salmonella in the United States, and bacteria are a main cause of diseases of food.
Earlier this summer, the CDC discreetly reduced a federal partnership to the state that monitors foods of food origin, reducing surveillance to two pathogens: a serious type of E. Coli and salmonella.
