Imported eggs linked to Swedish Salmonella infections

An outbreak of Salmonella with a probable connection to imported eggs is being investigated in Sweden.

Folkhälsomyndigheten (the Public Health Agency of Sweden) said several different outbreak strains appear to be involved, and epidemiological evidence for eggs being the cause differs for each suspected strain.

Since the beginning of the year, several reports of people infected with Salmonella Enteritidis have been identified where epidemiological investigations have pointed to the consumption of eggs. On some occasions, officials suspect they were imported from Ukraine.

The number of people sickened by each of the suspected outbreak strains varies between two and 22. The first patients were infected in late 2023 to early 2024, but most cases have illness onset dates from the latter part of July until the end of September. Patients are from all age groups, and there is no unusual gender distribution.

An investigation involving regional infection control, municipalities, the Swedish Food Agency (Livsmedelsverket), and the Public Health Agency of Sweden is ongoing.

Negative product testing
Eggs have been sold to private individuals in shops that do not belong to the larger chains, as well as to restaurants.

Several patients have consumed soft-boiled or unheated eggs in items such as mayonnaise, Béarnaise sauce, and pasta carbonara. On several occasions, eggs from shops and restaurants have been analyzed, but Salmonella has not been detected. This means no microbiological evidence from eggs or products made with them exists.

In 2023, an outbreak sickened 82 people and was traced to eggs produced at CA Cedergren, a large Swedish laying hen facility. A closely related strain of Salmonella Enteritidis caused a large outbreak in Belgium in 2022, with hundreds sick, also linked to a laying hen site in that country.

Raw eggs or foods made with raw eggs from countries other than Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Denmark should not be consumed. Heating the whole egg correctly or the food containing eggs can avoid the risk of infection when consuming such eggs.

Meanwhile, an outbreak of Salmonella Typhimurium appears to be over without the source being found.

Officials believe the source of infection was likely a food item with a limited shelf life that is no longer on the market.

In August and September, 35 people from 11 different regions became ill. Patients were aged from 1 to 89 with a median of 45 years old, and the majority were women, while 11 were men.

Information about possible sources of infection was collected via interviews, questionnaires, and purchase receipts from cases, but this did not help identify what food had caused illnesses.

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