The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced the end of an outbreak of Salmonella Enteritidis caused by eggs that sickened more than 100 people.
There were 105 confirmed patients in the outbreak, but the CDC said many more people were likely sick. The agency reports that for every patient confirmed to have a salmonella outbreak, 29 others go undetected. This is because some people do not seek medical attention and others do not undergo specific testing for salmonella infection.
Confirmed patients lived in 14 states from coast to coast and ranged in age from 1 to 91 years. The illnesses began between January 7 and August 14. Of the 42 people surveyed, 38 reported eating eggs. There were 19 hospitalizations. No deaths were reported.
The cases lived in Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Minnesota, North Carolina, Nebraska, New Mexico, Nevada, New York, Pennsylvania and Washington.
Public health researchers have used PulseNo a system for identifying diseases that may have been part of this outbreak. PulseNet operates a national database of DNA fingerprints of bacteria that cause foodborne illness. DNA fingerprinting is done on bacteria using a technique called whole genome sequencing (WGS). WGS showed that bacteria from samples from sick people were closely related genetically. This suggested that people in this outbreak got sick from the same food.
Based on WGS analysis, bacteria from samples from all 105 patients were predicted to be resistant to the antibiotics nalidixic acid and nonsusceptible to ciprofloxacin (NSC).
The FDA conducted tracking based on when sick people reported purchasing or consuming eggs and dishes containing eggs during the time period of interest. Country Eggs LLC was identified as the common supplier.
After reviewing patient surveys and feedback, the Food and Drug Administration began an investigation of Country Eggs LLC in Lucerne Valley, California. This audit included the collection of environmental samples. Of the samples collected, three tested positive for a strain of salmonella consistent with the strain that causes illness in humans.
On Aug. 27—eight months after the illness began—Country Eggs LLC recalled cage-free large brown “sunny yolk” or “golden omega-3 yolk” eggs. These eggs had expiration dates from July 1, 2025 to September 18, 2025, and the cartons were marked with the code “CA 7695.” These eggs are no longer sold.
The FDA's investigation into the outbreak has concluded, but the agency is working with the firm on corrective actions.
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