After eggs from an Australian chicken farm were infected with salmonella, supermarkets and retail outlets across Australia recalled eggs from the brands involved, and tens of thousands of chickens are now facing humanitarian destruction.
The state health department says it has identified five cases of salmonella, linked to the state chicken farm, Bridgewater Poultry, whose age ranges from 20 to 80.
In February, one person in Tasmania was infected with the deadly bacteria, but has recovered.
"it`s like an alien pest. It`s a sea toad in salmonella." Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said of the bacteria. A tropical toad native to Central and South America and later introduced to Australia. It is highly reproductive.
He thinks the salmonella in the egg incident was not caused locally.
"the bacteria have never been found in eggs in Victoria or even throughout Australia."
Symptoms of salmonella infection include fever, headache, diarrhea, abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting. It usually starts six to 72 hours after eating contaminated food and lasts up to a week.
The company`s free-range eggs and barn eggs are packaged under the Woolworths brand, Victorian fresh eggs and Loddon Valley eggs. The shelf life of potentially contaminated eggs runs from March 20 to April 29.
The eggs are available in Victoria, New South Wales, Tasmania and South Australia.
All eggs in the supermarket are safe to eat, with the exception of detected or infected eggs, Dr. Sutton said.
On Monday, inspectors from (health and human services department), Australia`s Health and Human Services Department, and (Agriculture Victoria), the Victorian agricultural sector, discovered Salmonella virus on the Bridgewater farm during routine inspections and immediately imposed quarantine measures.
Dr. Sutton added that currently infected cases were suspected to have been linked to contamination in New South Wales last year and that a national investigation was under way to determine whether there might be a link between them.
Australian authorities have confirmed Australia has the safest eggs in the world, encouraging consumers to continue eating eggs other than the brands involved.
