Your Health: A little advice on eggs

Most of us are aware of the recent massive recall after eggs from two Iowa farms were found to be contaminated with the salmonella germ, which can cause severe intestinal illness. About 550 million eggs have been recalled.
To better understand how many eggs that is, I calculated that if laid end to end, that many eggs would make a line about 21,000 miles long, which could almost stretch around the circumference of the earth!
Eggs are now produced at mega-farms that may be home to millions of birds per farm. Cramped conditions are a breeding ground for disease. In the 1970s, stringent procedures for cleaning and inspecting eggs were implemented, which significantly decreased salmonella infection caused by the contamination of egg shells. Now, it is known that the salmonella germ infects the ovaries of healthy-seeming birds and can contaminate eggs even before the shells form.
Salmonella disease may begin within three days of eating a contaminated egg. Symptoms may include lower-abdominal cramps, diarrhea, vomiting, chills, fever, generalized aches and headache. The illness may last a week, and an infected person will usually improve without any medical treatment. Salmonella infections, however, can be life-threatening for infants, older adults (especially those in nursing homes) and people with weakened immune systems.
So far, only a few thousand cases of salmonella illness have been reported nationwide, which does not qualify as an epidemic, but is much more than what might usually be expected.
There’s no easy way for shoppers to tell which eggs may be contaminated. Salmonella could contaminate all types of eggs, including those labeled free-range, kosher, organic or natural. It’s best to pay attention to the brand of eggs being recalled and return any eggs of the recalled brand to the store.
For most people, eggs are an important part of their diet, as evidenced by the fact that Americans consume some 220 million eggs a day.
So, here are some recommendations for enjoying eggs but staying healthy at the same time:
• Keep eggs refrigerated before and after cooking.
• Throw out dirty or cracked eggs.
• Eat eggs promptly after cooking.
• Make sure that eggs are cooked thoroughly, so that no part of the egg is still runny. (This will be difficult for many egg lovers.)
I am hopeful that this recent recall will prompt both egg producers and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to work together more closely and develop a system that will help to eliminate the egg-salmonella connection.
• Terry Hollenbeck, M.D., is an urgent-care physician at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation Santa Cruz in Scotts Valley. A doctor with 36 years’ experience, he invites readers to view his previous columns on his website, valleydoctor.wordpress.com. Information in this column is not intended to replace advice from your own health care professional. For any medical concern, consult your own doctor.