Salmonellosis Outbreak In The US – 200 Million Chicken Eggs Contaminated With Salmonella Were Recalled

More than 200 million eggs, presumably infected with Salmonella, have been recalled in the United States after 22 Salmonellosis cases were recorded, the Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reported yesterday.

The FDA issued the voluntary recall order for 206,749,248 eggs produced by Rose Acre Farms of Seymour, Indiana.

These eggs could have been infected with Salmonella, a well-known bacteria which can trigger serious and even fatal infections in young children, elderly, and other people with different immunity issues.

9 US States are possibly affected by the salmonella-infected eggs

The eggs were delivered from a farm situated in Hyde County, North Carolina and reached in retail stores and restaurants in Colorado, New Jersey, New York, Florida, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, North Carolina, West Virginia, and Virginia.

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), Salmonella affects about 1.2 million people in the United States each year. Food is the source of approximately one million infections.

Salmonellosis, the disease caused by Salmonella, is the culprit for about 450 deaths per year, in the US

The disease usually lasts between 4 and 7 days and in most cases does not require any treatment. The most frequent symptoms are diarrhea, fever, and severe abdominal cramps.

Of the 1.2 million people affected yearly, around 23,000 are hospitalized, while, unfortunately, around 450 people die.

“Healthy people infected with Salmonella can experience fever, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain,” the CDC says. However, in rare circumstances, Salmonellosis can cause the bacteria to enter the bloodstream and produce more serious consequences, such as arterial infections, endocarditis, and arthritis, according to the FDA.

Chicken can easily pass Salmonella to their eggs

Chickens can pass bacteria to their eggs through feces, while, in some cases, Salmonella can reach inside the eggs even before the eggshell forms.

Salmonella is the cause of the foodborne illnesses known as Salmonellosis, which can also occur through cross-contamination, for example, when contaminated uncooked foods come into contact with ready-to-eat foods, such as salads, or by manipulating contaminated raw food, whose bacteria you can easily transmit further, contaminating other foods.