France Hit Hardest In Multi-Country Salmonella Egg Outbreak

Almost 300 people have been sickened in six countries and two have died in an outbreak of Salmonella infections linked to eggs, Joe Whitworth reported for Food Safety News (FSN).

Photo Insert: Some patients in France had eaten at restaurants serving eggs distributed by a common supplier, a Spanish packing center.

More than 210 cases have been reported in France with 22 in Spain, 12 each in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, seven in Norway, and three in Denmark in 2021.

The most recent patient was in Norway with a sampling date of Dec. 22, according to an assessment by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).

Additional patients are likely to be identified because of the time it takes for infections to be identified and confirmed and then reported to authorities. ECDC said the risk of new infections caused by the outbreak strain and contaminated eggs remains high.

Infections were recorded in all age groups from less than 1 to 93 years old. A 66-year-old man in France and a 58-year-old man with underlying conditions in Spain have died. Of 80 cases with known information, 25 were hospitalized. Consumption of eggs in some form was reported by all 60 interviewed cases, and of poultry products by 39 of 42 patients.

Some patients in France had eaten at restaurants serving eggs distributed by a common supplier, a Spanish packing center. Eggs came from three Spanish farms and one tested positive for the outbreak strain of Salmonella. It was found in an official dust sample collected in late July 2021.

WEEKLY FEATURE : MVP Group Keeps Lights On During Pandemic