An outbreak of Salmonella Enteritidis (SE) at a restaurant in Kenosha, Wisconsin has been linked to the recall of 380 million eggs and nearly 300 illnesses in the rapidly widening nationwide outbreak tied to Wright County Egg company. A lawsuit originally filed in the Kenosha County Branch of the Wisconsin District Court against the restaurant was filed in amended form to include Wright County Egg by Seattle-based food safety law firm Marler Clark.
The plaintiff ate at the Baker Street Restaurant and Pub in July. Her ensuing illness required her to go to the hospital, where it was determined that she was infected with Salmonella Enteritidis (SE). At the time, the outbreak seemed to be confined to the restaurant, but now that the strain of SE associated with the contaminated eggs has been genetically “fingerprinted”, the Wisconsin outbreak is part of a much larger nationwide outbreak.
Wright County Egg issued a voluntary recall of shell eggs distributed nationwide when the product was linked to SE illnesses. Wisconsin has 21 ill, Nevada 30, Minnesota 7, and California 266 illnesses associated with the outbreak. This confirms CDC revelations that they have seen four times as many SE illnesses than usual reported each week for several months.
“These are the states with the fastest reporting systems, which gives the false impression that their states are where the illnesses are concentrated,” said the plaintiff’s attorney, Bill Marler. “In reality, there are illnesses nationwide that have yet to be counted. We have been contacted by SE victims is states as widespread as Oregon, Ohio, North Carolina and Arkansas. We expect this outbreak to grow.”