CDC: 1,800 victims of Salmonella egg outbreak

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have updated the amount of people who have been confirmed as getting sick after eating eggs from Wright County Egg and/or Hillandale Farms.

At least 1,800 people have been confirmed with the specific strain of Salmonella Enteritidis poisoning found all about the Iowa locations at the core of the ongoing nationwide outbreak.

More than eight million eggs have been recalled across the U.S. after people first started reported getting sick after eating at restaurants and hotels, where many of each farm’s eggs are sold. Wright County Egg and Hillandale Farms are two of the largest egg producers in the U.S. and supply wholesalers and institutional kitchens.

Food and Drug Administration investigations have revealed sub-standard conditions at each location and ordered each of the shut-down until they met FDA regulations. Just this week, regulators re-opened Hillandale Farms, but Wright County Egg remains closed. The FDA also sent its owner a comprehensive listing of the errors found at the farms.

Many cases of Salmonella poisoning go unreported, according to studies. It is believed that as few as 1 in 30 people will have a case of Salmonella poisoning confirmed by a physician so it’s likely the CDC estimate of 1,800 people is considerably lower than the actual total.