According to the media reports, a national outbreak of salmonella in eggs has sickened hundreds of people since May and appears to be ongoing, experts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say. The outbreak has been tracked to in-shell eggs from Wright County Egg in Galt, Iowa, which has launched a recall. The recall was launched Aug. 13. Salmonella can cause fever, abdominal cramps and diarrhea and usually lasts four to seven days. As a statement of Casey Barton Behravesh who is a veterinary epidemiologist with the CDC, the type of salmonella causing the outbreak, salmonella enteritidis, is the most common form. The normal level of laboratory-confirmed cases nationally for this specific type is about 50 cases per week. When that jumped to 200 cases a week in June, public health workers realized they had a problem. It was reported on USAToday.com, the eggs from the company were sold under multiple brand names: Lucerne, Albertson, Mountain Dairy, Ralph’s, Boomsma’s, Sunshine, Hillandale, Trafficanda, Farm Fresh, Shoreland, Lund, Dutch Farms and Kemps. They were distributed nationwide. The recall covers eggs in their shells packed between May 16 and Aug. 13. They come in cartons ranging from six to 18 eggs and are marked with plant numbers P-1026, P-1413 and P-1946. The eggs should be returned for a refund and not consumed. Completely cooking eggs reduces the amount of salmonella bacteria in the eggs. Each case of laboratory-confirmed salmonella usually represents 30 cases that were not reported, public health research shows. So the number of people sickened in this outbreak could be in the thousands. From Caroline Smith DeWaal, food safety director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, “This certainly has the potential to be a very large outbreak both given the apparent number of reported cases so far and also the fact that many of these eggs may still be in consumer refrigerators.” Further from Casey Barton Behravesh, CDC is not reporting deaths or hospitalizations in the outbreak because it’s difficult to determine if they are related to eggs from Wright County Egg or are part of the expected “background” level of cases from other sources. Food and Drug Administration spokeswoman Patricia El-Hinnawy said that Food and Drug Administration currently has teams on site at Wright County Egg. In other report of Associated Press, State health officials say seven salmonella cases in Minnesota have been linked to a multistate egg recall. The salmonella cases were identified in two restaurant outbreaks in May and in July. Health officials believe the eggs are the likely source. The eggs from Wright County Egg of Galt, Iowa were delivered to food distribution centers and food service companies in eight states, including Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa. Minnesota Public Radio reports that for every confirmed salmonella case, state health officials estimate there are 38 unconfirmed cases. Read More News Egg Recall: National Outbreak Of salmonella is a post from: Daily World Buzz Continue reading →
