Key points
CDC, FDA, and public health officials in several states are investigating a multistate outbreak of Salmonella infections linked to shell eggs. If you have recalled shell eggs in your home or business, throw them out or return them.
Latest update
July 24, 2026
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, laboratory, and traceback data show that shell eggs produced and distributed by Midwest Poultry Services, L.P. may be contaminated with Salmonella Enteritidis and may be making people sick.
Epidemiologic data
Cases
Illnesses started on dates ranging from November 21, 2025, to June 30, 2026. The true number of sick people in this outbreak is likely much higher than the number reported, and this outbreak may not be 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.
Demographics
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).
Age
(n=98)
Range from less than one to 81 years
Median age of 48
Sex
(n=96)
54% female
46% male
Race
(n=82)
84% White
12% African American/Black
4% Asian
Ethnicity
(n=80)
65% non-Hispanic
35% Hispanic
State and local public health officials are interviewing people about the foods they ate in the week before they got sick. Of the 44 people interviewed, 40 (91%) reported eating shell eggs.
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 98 people's samples predicted nonsusceptibility to ciprofloxacin and resistance to nalidixic acid; this 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 were 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.
As part of this investigation, FDA conducted a traceback investigation based on where sick people reported purchasing or eating eggs during the timeframe of interest, and Midwest Poultry Services, L.P was identified as a common egg source for some cases. Additional investigation is ongoing to determine if there are other sources of illness.
Additionally, Midwest Poultry Services, L.P. collected samples at farms in Texas. Samples collected by the firm tested positive for Salmonella, and WGS performed by the firm's third-party lab revealed that samples match the strain of Salmonella in this outbreak.