The SE outbreak attributed to eggs produced by County Eggs, LLC located in Lucerne Valley, CA. is now officially over. Laboratory investigations confirmed 105 cases in 14 states with patients ranging in age from infants to 90 years. It is significant that approximately 20 percent of confirmed cases required hospitalization. Cases extended from January 7th to August 14th 2025. Given the known disparity between actual and confirmed cases, CDC estimated that as many as 3,000 consumers may have been affected.
The outbreak was initially detected using the PulseNet System. Whole genome sequencing confirmed the commonality of isolates from patients and with trace-back to the implicated farm. It is significant that the SE isolate involved was resistant to nalidixic acid and ciprofloxacin, widely used as an antibiotic to treat bacterial infections including salmonellosis.
Given that infected flocks were allowed outside access, County Eggs, LLC will have difficulty in decontaminating soil in the vicinity of houses. Since the implicated eggs were sold from July through September, it will be interesting to learn of the results of routine mandated environmental sampling since this would denote the sensitivity of current surveillance procedures. Details of the vaccination status of flocks would also be of interest.