Occurrence of Salmonella enteritidis in unpasteurized liquid egg in the United States.

In order to gain a greater understanding of the occurrence and distribution of Salmonella enteritidis in the United States, a survey of unpasteurized liquid egg (collected at 20 egg-breaking plants across the United States) was conducted over a 52-week period. Weekly liquid egg samples were submitted for Salmonella culturing at the National Veterinary Services Laboratories. Group D positive salmonellae were serotyped and phage-typed. On a regional basis, the Northern Region of the United States had the highest S. enteritidis recovery, with 20% of the samples submitted from plants in that region culture-positive for this serotype. Salmonella enteritidis positives from the Southeast, Central, and Western regions were 10%, 15%, and 6% of the samples submitted, respectively.