Investigation Update: Salmonella Outbreak, August 2025

CDC, public health and regulatory officials in several states, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are collecting different types of data to investigate a multistate outbreak of Salmonella Enteritidis infections.

Epidemiologic and traceback data show that eggs distributed by Country Eggs, LLC may be contaminated with Salmonella Enteritidis and may be making people sick.

Epidemiologic Data

As of August 27, 2025, a total of 95 people infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella have been reported from 14 states. Illnesses started on dates ranging from January 7, 2025, to July 26, 2025. Of the 80 people with information available, 18 have been hospitalized. No deaths have been reported.

The true number of sick people in this outbreak was likely much higher than the number reported, and this outbreak may not have been limited to the states with known illnesses. This is because many people recover without medical care and are not tested for Salmonella. In addition, recent illnesses may not yet be reported as it usually takes 3 to 4 weeks to determine if a sick person is part of an outbreak.

Public health officials collect many different types of information from sick people, including their age, race, ethnicity, other demographics, and the foods they ate in the week before they got sick. This information provides clues to help investigators identify the source of the outbreak.

The table below has information about sick people in this outbreak ("n" is the number of people with information available for each demographic).

State and local public health officials are interviewing people about the foods they ate in the week before they got sick. Of the 36 people interviewed, 33 (92%) reported eating eggs. This percentage is significantly higher than the 78% of respondents who reported eating eggs in the FoodNet Population Survey—a survey that helps estimate how often people eat various foods linked to diarrheal illness. This difference suggests that people in this outbreak got sick from eating eggs.

State health officials identified illness sub-clusters at four restaurants. An illness sub-cluster is a group of unrelated sick people who all ate at the same location or event, such as a restaurant. Investigating sub-clusters can help identify a food item eaten by all the sick people that could be the source of the outbreak. Eggs were served at the four restaurants with illness sub-clusters.

Laboratory and Traceback Data

Public health investigators are using the PulseNet system to identify illnesses that may be part of this outbreak. CDC PulseNet manages a national database of DNA fingerprints of bacteria that cause foodborne illnesses. DNA fingerprinting is performed on bacteria using a method called whole genome sequencing (WGS).

WGS showed that bacteria from sick people's samples are closely related genetically. This suggests that people in this outbreak got sick from the same food.

Based on WGS analysis, bacteria from 94 people's samples had predicted resistance to nalidixic acid and nonsusceptibility to ciprofloxacin (NSC); this NSC strain is related to a strain of Salmonella Enteritidis isolated from chicken, eggs, and backyard poultry. Most people with Salmonella illness recover without antibiotics. However, if antibiotics are needed, some illnesses in this outbreak may not be treatable with some commonly recommended antibiotics and may require a different antibiotic choice. More information is available at the National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS) site.

FDA conducted traceback based on where sick people reported shopping or eating eggs and dishes containing eggs during the timeframe of interest. Country Eggs, LLC was identified as a common supplier.

Public Health Actions

On August 27, 2025, Country Eggs, LLC recalled eggs. CDC advises people to not eat recalled eggs and businesses to not sell or serve recalled eggs.