Salmonella Outbreak: At Least 35 People Get Sick Following Recall Of Over 200M Eggs

Thirty-five people living along the East Coast have already gotten sick from the recent salmonella outbreak that ravaged the region.

Additional patients up the total of the recent salmonella flare-up that has been traced to more than 200 million bad eggs from the Rose Acre Farms.

The Outbreak

Approximately 206,749,248 eggs were voluntarily recalled by Rose Acre Farms last April due to its potential of being contaminated with Salmonella braenderup, according to a report from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

At the time of the recall, 22 illnesses have been reported and the number of those infected only increased over the weeks.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revealed that the 35 people who caught Salmonella braenderup were all from nine states. As of Thursday, May 10, a total of 11 people have already been hospitalized.

Fortunately, no deaths have been reported.

Rose Acre Farms

According to a report from Washington Post, federal officials inspected the company's farm where 2.3 million eggs a day are produced.

The recalled batch of eggs hit stores and restaurants under the brands Great Value, Country Daybreak, and Crystal Farms. They were distributed in various states including Colorado, Florida, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, and the Carolinas.

Indy Star reports that FDA violations have been observed in the Rose Acre Farms facilities, including cleaning procedures for equipment not being implemented, shortcuts in washing eggs, and even rodent activity in the hen houses.

"We apologize to anyone who may have been sickened or who has a family member or friend who may have taken ill because of our eggs," the company says in an official statement in Washington Post. "Meanwhile, we have already implemented numerous remedial actions and have not only corrected deficiencies at the farm, but we've also taken other steps to ensure the farm meets or exceeds the standards by the FDA and USDA."

Rose Acre Farms has already been embroiled in a legal battle against the federal government following three separate outbreaks that caused 450 people to get sick in 1990. Appeals from both sides eventually got the case dismissed in 2009.

Salmonella braenderup

Salmonella cases reach up to 1.2 million illnesses, 23,000 hospitalizations, and 450 deaths in the United States annually, according to estimates from the CDC.

The salmonella bacteria causes the infected person to develop diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps just 12 to 72 hours after getting bacteria. Most patients can recover after mere days even without treatment.

However, patients occasionally need to be hospitalized for severe diarrhea and the infection spreading to the blood stream. It's these cases that can cause death in salmonella-infected people.

Infants, the elderly, and people with compromised immune systems are particularly vulnerable to the disease.

To prevent the illness, CDC advises the safe handling and cooking of eggs. Proper hygienic practices such as thorough hand washing are also a must.