BRUSSELS, Aug 25 (Reuters) – A record salmonella outbreak in a Belgian chicken farm has infected at least 306 people after they ate eggs, the food safety agency said on Tuesday.
The agency said those who developed symptoms had been contaminated by a strain found at the farm, though many more may have contracted the disease but not been tested as they had shown only mild or no symptoms, said a spokesperson for the agency, known as AFSCA.
“Salmonella is relatively common in Belgium, but we never had such a broad cluster with so many people hit,” she said, adding that nobody had died.
AFSCA had first identified the contamination in May, issued a recall and closed down a hen house at a farm in Flanders, Belgium’s northern half. As more cases were reported, the whole farm was closed and the poultry were culled after a second recall on August 10.
The company selling the eggs was identified as Laerco BV. It did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
As many as 2 million eggs potentially contaminated with the bacteria were sold in Belgium and neighbouring Luxembourg, where the local health agency also issued a recall.
Some eggs might still be in some people’s kitchens and cause more cases despite the recall, the AFSCA spokesperson said.
Cooking the eggs reduces the risk of contracting the disease.
Salmonella is a group of rod-shaped bacteria that can cause salmonellosis, a common foodborne illness. Symptoms typically include diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps.
(Reporting by Inti LandauroEditing by Gareth Jones)
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