Federal and state health officials are investigating a multistate outbreak of Salmonella linked to brown eggs from a distributor in California.
In an update published late last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that as June 5, 79 people in 7 states had been infected with Salmonella Enteritidis, with 21 people hospitalized and no fatalities. The age of the case-patients ranges from 1 to 90 years, and illness onset dates range from February 24 to May 17. The affected states are Arizona, California, Kentucky, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, and Washington.
Of the 30 people who've been interviewed, 27 reported eating eggs, and state health officials have identified illness sub-clusters at two restaurants where eggs were served. Six of the case-patients reported traveling to California or Nevada in the week before they got sick.
The CDC says the true number of sick people in the outbreak is likely much larger, since most people with Salmonella infections recover without medical care.
Outbreak traced to distributor in California
A traceback investigation, conducted by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and based on where sick people reported shopping for or eating eggs, has linked the outbreak to brown cage free and brown certified organic eggs distributed by August Egg Company in Hillmar, California, from February 3 through May 15, with sell by dates from March 4 to June 4. Whole genome sequencing of environmental samples collected during an inspection of the company's processing facility identified two samples that matched the outbreak strain of Salmonella.
"Consumers, restaurants, and retailers should not eat, sell, or serve recalled brown cage free and brown certified organic eggs by August Egg Company," the FDA said.
The eggs were sold under several brands, including Clover, First Street, Nulaid, O Organics, Martketside, Raleys, Simple Truth, Sun Harvest, and Sunnyside. They were sold to retailers in Arizona, California, Illinois, Indiana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Nevada, Washington, and Wyoming.
Consumers, restaurants, and retailers should not eat, sell, or serve recalled brown cage free and brown certified organic eggs by August Egg Company.
The FDA said the company diverted all eggs to an egg-breaking facility in May, and has agreed to recall 1.7 million cartons of brown cage free and brown certified organic eggs that could potentially be in people's homes. The investigation is ongoing.
The CDC noted that the Salmonella strain implicated in this outbreak is resistant to nalidixic acid and nonsusceptible to ciprofloxacin and is related to a strain that's been isolated from chicken, eggs, and backyard poultry. One clinical sample also predicted additional resistance to ampicillin and streptomycin.
"Most people with Salmonella illness recover without antibiotics," the CDC said. "However, if antibiotics are needed, some illnesses in this outbreak may not be treatable with some commonly recommended antibiotics and may require a different antibiotic choice."
