Outbreaks of Salmonella serotype enteritidis infection associated with eating raw or undercooked shell eggs–United States, 1996-1998

During the 1980s and 1990s, Salmonella serotype Enteritidis (SE) emerged as an important cause of human illness in the United States. The rate of SE isolates reported to CDC increased from 0.6 per 100,000 population in 1976 to 3.6 per 100,000 in 1996 (Figure 1). Case-control studies of sporadic infections and outbreak investigations found that this increase was associated with eating raw or undercooked shell eggs (1). From 1996 to 1998, the rate of culture-confirmed SE cases reported to CDC declined to 2.2 per 100,000; however, outbreaks of illness caused by SE continue to occur. This report describes four SE outbreaks during 1996-1998 associated with eating raw or undercooked shell eggs and discusses measures that may be contributing to the decline in culture-confirmed SE cases.