Spring season brings warnings about egg safety!

Public Health warns Salmonella infection can result from handling live poultry, poultry cages and bedding.  Parents and caregivers should keep children 5 years of age and younger from handling young birds, such as chicks, ducklings, goslings and baby turkeys.  Download the JCPH egg safety flier. 

Egg Safety

With the arrival of spring, many Jefferson County residents will celebrate by decorating eggs for Easter. Jefferson County Public Health asks that you keep these safety tips in mind when coloring your eggs:

Before decorating, decide whether or not you want to eat the decorated eggs later. If you do, follow these rules:

• Wash your hands between all the steps. 
• Be sure that all the materials you use are food safe. 
• Keep the eggs refrigerated as much as possible. 
• Dye the eggs in water warmer than the eggs so the insides don’t absorb the dye. 
• If you hide the decorated eggs, avoid contact with animals or lawn chemicals. 
• Throw out any “found” eggs that have cracked or have been out at room temperature for more than 2 hours. 
• Eat the refrigerated eggs within one week. 

Fresh eggs must be purchased, handled, prepared and stored carefully to avoid the possibility of foodborne illness. Even eggs with clean, un-cracked shells may contain bacteria called Salmonella. 

• Buy eggs only sold from a refrigerated case. 
• Make sure that the eggs are not cracked. 
• Refrigerate at 40ºF or below. 
• Wash hands, utensils, equipment, and work surfaces with hot, soapy water. 
• Cook eggs until the yolk and the white are firm. Scrambled eggs should not be runny. 
• Cook egg dishes until they reach 160°F. Use a food thermometer to be sure. 

Please see our Egg Safety fact sheet for more information or click here for information from Fight BAC, the Partnership for Food Safety Education.

Getting to Know a Public Health Nurse

By this time, I’m sure most of you have heard about the Salmonella outbreak related to products containing certain types of peanut butter. It still amazes me that epidemiologists are able to narrow down a source for a national outbreak affecting hundreds of people. One of the exciting parts of my job is that, often, I get to be involved in these investigations. With this outbreak, I had the chance to interview someone who had become sick with this particular type of Salmonella.
Certain illnesses are required to be reported to the state health department, and every day our team is notified of Jefferson County residents who have tested positive for a reportable condition. Salmonella is a “reportable” illnesses, and after receiving the original report, I started our standard investigation for Salmonella infection. After the first interview, I heard from the state health department that this individual “matched” an outbreak being tracked nationally. From there, we did more and more focused interviews. Initially, this individual thought the illness came from eating some undercooked chicken or cleaning out the cage of a pet snake. (Both legitimate ways of getting a Salmonella infection.) After further interviews, we discovered that peanut butter sandwich crackers were eaten 6 to 7 times each week, prior to the illness.
Though we regularly deal with diagnosed illnesses, at times we receive reports of illnesses in the community that have not yet been identified. School nurses may call to report a rash illness in their schools, or a nursing home may call for guidance with an outbreak of a diarrhea in their residents. This can start with a call to one of the communicable disease control nurses, and depending on the situation, different people within the county health department may become involved. For example, a person who calls with a complaint of getting sick after eating at a restaurant may need to speak with an Environmental Health Specialist. Other situations require intervention by our epidemiologists. Each person plays different roles at different times, but the overall goal is the same- to protect Jefferson County citizens from infectious diseases.