Four patients with Salmonella enteritidis infection are reported. All were body builders who regularly consumed substantial quantities of raw eggs. They presented with a severe febrile illness and diarrhoea–presumably reflecting a large bacterial inoculum. Advice regarding the potential hazards of raw egg ingestion has been repeatedly issued by the Department of Health–but this report highlights the fact that this practice continues in spite of this. The epidemiology of S. enteritidis infection in relation to raw egg ingestion is discussed.
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