By Natascha Rivera

Copyright euroweeklynews

TWO nursing homes in Katrineholm, Sweden, have reported a Salmonella outbreak with dozens of people sick, and the culprit has been confirmed to be a local egg producer, according to a press release by the regional council for Södermanland County. At least 50 people have fallen ill with Salmonella, and four people have died during the outbreak, though three died from other causes and it is unclear if the remaining one died from Salmonella.

The outbreak has been linked to a local Katrineholm egg producer, who are currently being investigated by the Public Health Agency and whose eggs have now been recalled.

On a national scale, Sweden has been seeing a disturbing upwards trend of Salmonella incidents, many of them due to contaminated eggs specifically. Seven people in four different regions of the country have been reported with an outbreak of Salmonella Enteritidis, which was detected in laying hens and their eggs. Interviews with sick people indicate the outbreak comes from eggs that had been recalled in Sweden in late August. However, the outbreaks are expected to stymie in the autumn time.

Salmonella, a common bacterial disease that affects the intestines, is most often passed through contaminated foods, often coming from animals including beef, poultry, seafood, milk, or eggs. However, any food, even unwashed vegetables, can become contaminated with Salmonella. The symptoms of the disease include fever, vomiting, nausea, chills, headache, stomach cramps, and diarrhoea, among other symptoms.